More than a scoop: the story behind Whistlepunk Ice Cream

LEAVENWORTH – On a busy summer afternoon, the line at Whistlepunk Ice Cream often stretches out the door and down the sidewalk as employees hustle between tubs of handcrafted ice cream, fresh waffle cones and eager customers. 

For shift lead Dylan Munly, the pace is all part of the season.

“We normally have a line out the door all day long,” he said. “I’m constantly making sure we’re restocked and making batter for our waffle cones.” 

On the busiest days, the shop goes through as many as 800 waffle cones, each made fresh from a recipe developed before Whistlepunk opened its downtown storefront in 2018. Today, owner Matt Collins says that the business produces between 80,000 and 100,000 cones each year. 

Whistlepunk has come a long way since Collins first sold handcrafted ice cream from a cart at the Leavenworth Farmers Market while working to pay off his first commercial ice cream machine. He also served local concerts, weddings and community events, building a loyal customer base before taking the leap into a permanent location. 

Before opening Whistlepunk, Collins worked as a fisheries biologist in Washington. Inspired by childhood memories of family trips for ice cream in his home state of Massachusetts, he began experimenting with recipes alongside friends after purchasing a small ice cream maker. 

As demand grew, he expanded production to the kitchen at Ravenous Catering in Monitor before opening Whistlepunk Ice Cream in downtown Leavenworth. 

“I wanted homemade ice cream that was made on the premises and made with earnestness,” said Collins.

As Whistlepunk has grown, sourcing ingredients has evolved. While the shop still prioritizes local ingredients whenever possible, demand has outpaced what some small suppliers can provide. Collins said maintaining quality has remained the priority as production has expanded. The focus, Collins said, has always been on doing one thing well: providing top-quality ice cream.

That commitment remains at the heart of the business. Rather than relying on commercial mix-ins, the kitchen makes its own cookies, brownies and other ingredients from scratch while rotating seasonal flavors throughout the year.

Among the customer favorites is Blackberry Fool, a vanilla ice cream swirled with house-made blackberry sorbet. Employees Munly and Ethan Flansburg both named it as the shop’s best-selling flavor, alongside Cookies ‘n’ Dreams and Bertha’s Caramel Brownie, while Buckley’s Lemon Bar became a summer favorite. This fall, the popular Chai Honeycomb flavor is rumored to make a return, thanks to a new production method.

Keeping those summer flavors stocked requires months of preparation. Managers begin hiring seasonal employees in the spring while the kitchen builds inventory ahead of Leavenworth’s busy tourism season. 

“At some point in May, there is just no way to keep up,” Collins said. “We’re basically chasing our tail the entire summer.”

The shop employs between 30 and 40 people during the summer months, many of them local high school and college students. Collins named the business after the “whistlepunk,” an entry-level worker in historic logging camps responsible for signaling crews with a steam whistle. The name honors the region’s logging history and the young employees who often begin their working lives at the shop.

For Flansburg, who began working at Whistlepunk as a Cascade High School junior in 2024, the workplace has become more than just a summer job. 

“My favorite part has to be that I work with my closest friends most days,” he said. “Whistlepunk usually hires a few people from each Cascade High School grade level each year.”

Even during the busiest weekends, when the shop serves many hundreds of customers, employees say the fast pace creates opportunities for brief but memorable conversations with visitors from around the world. 

“You get to meet all types of people,” Munly said. “It’s always great to connect with people over little things they mention in the short time you’re serving them.” 

For Collins, Whistlepunk’s success is measured by more than just long lines and busy summers. He credits loyal local customers who continue bringing family and friends to the shop year after year. 

“We really appreciate that,” he said. “I want to say thanks to everybody that is loyal to us and keeps coming down.”

What began as a farmers market cart has become a Leavenworth tradition, where handcrafted ice cream, fresh waffle cones and first jobs continue bringing people together, one scoop at a time.

Hazel Eschen: 509-731-4392 or hazel@ward.media