LOS ANGELES — A new Leimert Park ice cream shop hopes to connect culture, community and cream through homemade ice cream.
The owner of All Chill, Genelle Brooks-Petty, mixed her passion for the sweet treat with her connection to the community.
“It’s a little piece of joy. Little reflections of the culture that they live with and find happiness in all of those pieces,” said Brooks-Petty.
She is a fourth-generation Leimert Park resident. After meeting her husband, Julian Petty, at Howard University, they decided to raise their family here. Brooks-Petty noticed they had to keep leaving the neighborhood for something as simple as ice cream. So, even though she’s an interior designer by trade and Petty an attorney for Warner Music, they decided to make their busy lives even busier.
“We wanted to be a part of the revitalization of this community. We thought the best way to do that was to get engaged in the commercial development in ways that were very easy to touch,” said Brooks-Petty. “I love ice cream. My husband loves hip hop, and that culture lives in this community, so we decided to marry the two.”
It’s a marriage of culture, community and cream. Brooks-Petty shows how the ice cream is made through a demonstration they do at kids’ parties, nonprofit events and office gatherings, which are part of their community outreach.
Although this is not how the real ice cream is made. They home-make everything at their off-site facility with organic ingredients that are sourced from their heavy cream to the flavors. Some batches have fresh fruits, lavender, or saffron, along with natural extracts.
“All of our mixtures are our own recipes. We prepare them in machines that make the process easier than this. We don’t use rock salt,” said Brooks-Petty.
Brooks-Petty is self-taught, researching the science behind the treat and learning everything about how to make the perfect ice cream. The flavors are constantly rotating and all stem from her creativity.
“The flavors are inspired by life. So, I take pieces of my life, things that I see, things that my friends are experiencing and their cultures,” she said.
New Orleans, where a lot of her family is also from inspired their most popular flavor. It’s a whiskey praline made with real whiskey and candied pecans. They also have vegan options and sorbets.
The culture comes from Petty and his extensive hip hop memorabilia collection. He accumulated it over the years, especially after working with artists he grew up listening to.
“It feels amazing. Now I don’t have to have it in boxes in closets around the house. I can display it and share it with the community,” said Petty.
It doesn’t end here. All Chill is technically still in its pop-up phase. Right now, the husband and wife duo is building a kitchen on-site and will have a permanent set up, hopefully by the summer. They want people in the Leimert Park community and beyond to taste their fresh ice cream and partake in cultural conversations.
“Get something that makes them feel happy and that they find something interesting or someone interesting to engage with while here,” said Brooks-Petty.
Get the inside scoop on culture, community and cream at All Chill, located at 3415 W 43rd Pl. in Los Angeles. It's currently only open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.