UNA students quickly became acquainted with new local business Shirey Ice Cream when they caught word of free scoops of cookies and cream ice cream being given away in the GUC the first day of finals this May.

Shirey Ice Cream is a new name to the Shoals, but the faces behind the operation are not.

Brothers Reese, 22, Austin, 26, and Garrett, 27, were raised on Shoals soil but parted ways for school. Now, the family is back in town to prove to Shoals and Florence communities that the taste of Southern heritage is a good bowl of ice cream.

Shirey Ice Cream actually started years ago with three brothers coming home ravenously hungry from their high school swim team practice.

“We would eat a lot of ice cream – way more than the normal person,” Reese said. That was when he decided to try out making it himself.

“It was really crappy at first,” he said.

The ice cream production began using a backyard, hand-powered, Kosher-salt-and-ice machine. He has since upgraded to an electric machine but still makes each batch individually.

The customer base has grown since high school; Shirey Ice Cream now has nearly 1,000 likes on Facebook.

Brothers Austin and Garrett joined the family business last year and handle social media and public relations.

They are currently on the market for a brick-and-mortar location but have already been doing business for several months. Via social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, they have been notifying their followers, friends and fans when and where a batch will be served.

They have been called a “guerilla-style business” for these sporadic appearances around town and at local functions, Reese said.

“We want to help Florence and Muscle Shoals grow,” Reese said. “Ice cream is just the way we’re getting started.”

A complete menu is available on their Facebook page with seasonal flavors, all variations of four basic ingredients: milk, cream, eggs and sugar. The actual production is an overnight affair, though.

“It’s a craft, artisan process,” Reese said.

Their mantra is “Alabama when possible. Southern at all costs.” Reese said he and his brothers are big on collaborations and want to encourage buying locally and supporting small businesses.

This happens by working local ingredients into their original recipes: chai from Bookmark’s Coffee for their spiced chai flavor, kudzu porter from Back 40 Beer Company for their dark chocolate porter flavor and Rivertown coffee roasted brew for their caramel iced coffee flavor.

Reese said a crowd favorite is salted caramel.

Reese said his mission is to create ice cream that tastes like growing up in the South.

Once settled into a permanent location, Shirey will be selling ice cream by the scoop for $3 and by the pint for $8.