Rookies serves up friendship, one ice cream sandwich at a time

In Lynchburg, one local ice cream shop is serving up something that’s not just sweet, but memorable. At Rookie’s, it’s not just about enjoying an ice cream sandwich — it’s about community, friendship and growth.

Rookie’s has grown far beyond its humble beginnings. While pursuing his MBA at Liberty University, cofounder Jordan Nickerson had the idea of creating an ice cream food truck. The idea came to fruition, and in the spring of 2017, Rookie’s made its debut.

Nickerson, who served as a Resident Director (RD) at Liberty, was friends with Jon Ireland, a Resident Assistant (RA) at the time. Even after graduation, the two friends stayed in touch. In 2021, Nickerson recruited Ireland to help grow the business, which, by that point, had expanded to two locations and a pop-up at Smith Mountain Lake. Together with Holly Nickerson, Jordan Nickerson’s wife, and their friend and Liberty alumnus John Rerick, the team opened additional Rookie’s shops, including one at River Ridge Mall and another on the University of Virginia campus.

While each location flourished, COVID-19 led to a season of transition for the business. The team began to offer frozen ice cream sandwiches, which opened the door for wholesale distribution. In 2022, Rookie’s partnered with food distributor Sysco, allowing it to grow from one warehouse to 10 and from local sales to markets across Virginia, Maryland and South Carolina.

“Our vision and goal is to be hospitable, create an experience for people and package that experience to share it with more than just the city of Lynchburg,” Ireland said. “At this point, you can see us in a lot of mom-and-pop shops across Virginia, a couple of local retail chains, and we’re working diligently to get into bigger chains as we speak.”

Despite the growing success of Rookie’s, Ireland explained the business owners’ love for Liberty and its Lynchburg roots.

“Liberty is part of what propelled our business and gave us opportunities,” Ireland said. “We love being at Liberty, and we love college students and the energy, fun and excitement that they bring.”

Ireland described the mission of Rookie’s and further emphasized how much the Rookie’s team enjoys being part of the Liberty community.

“Whether it’s at Forest or at the football stadium, we want to create memorable dessert experiences,” Ireland said. “When you’re watching the Liberty Flames on the last-second touchdown and you’re eating an ice cream sandwich, we just want to be part of that moment.”

Rookie’s offers a mix of classic and rotating seasonal cookie and ice cream flavors. Core favorites like chocolate chip and vanilla are always available, while seasonal offerings such as pumpkin, lavender, banana pudding and peppermint add variety throughout the year.

“What we try to do is just keep it fresh and add about four to five ice creams a month that are changed,” Ireland said.

As for the name “Rookie’s,” the business was initially called “Mookies,” which playfully described the combination of milk and cookies. However, when the owners went to trademark it, they discovered the name was already taken by another business.

“That is such a rookie mistake,” Nickerson said.

“Someone immediately suggested, ‘There’s your name!’ So they turned it into ‘Rookie’s,’ and we’ve been running with it ever since,” Ireland said.

Even now, the Rookie’s team embraces that “rookie mentality.”

“We still feel like we’re rookies,” Ireland said. “The second you think you’ve got it all figured out is usually when your business starts to plateau. So we’re always learners, pushing ourselves to make things the best they can be.”

At Rookie’s, the focus isn’t just on serving ice cream sandwiches; It’s about cultivating a community.

“Whether someone’s having a great day or a rough one, we hope that when they come to our window, we can just make it a little bit better,” Ireland said. “We always want to be that welcoming, hospitable smile.”

For more information about Rookie’s, visit https://www.eatatrookiZes.co/ or follow @eatarookies on Instagram.

Solem is the lifestyle editor for the Liberty Champion.