RICHMOND, Va. — As Richmond emerged from a citywide boil water advisory, some local businesses—especially those in the food industry—were left scrambling to maintain operations. Among them was Ruby Scoops Ice Cream & Sweets, where owner Rabia Kamara found creative solutions to keep serving her community during the water crisis.
On Thursday, May 29, Richmond Mayor Danny Avula announced that the Virginia Department of Health had officially lifted the boil water advisory. This followed two sets of compliance tests, both of which came back negative for contaminants, meeting state safety standards.
Despite the advisory, Ruby Scoops managed to stay operational. “I was able to get my hands on some purified water, so we’re going to be using that for service to make cones,” said Kamara. She stressed that clean water is essential—not just for making ice cream but for sanitizing equipment, washing utensils, and maintaining dipping wells.
Kamara is no stranger to adversity. During a winter storm in January, power outages forced her to dispose of more than 80 tons of ice cream after her freezers failed. The recent water issues added another layer of difficulty, as she couldn’t produce new batches of ice cream without clean water.
“We’re boiling water right now so we can make ice cream this evening,” Kamara explained. “Just like the sanitation portion of things, the water needs to be usable.”
Kamara emphasized the broader implications of Richmond’s ongoing infrastructure issues. “It can’t keep happening,” she said. “That’s difficult for everyone that lives and works in the city and it’s not something that you expect to happen.”
Still, she remains hopeful. Kamara expressed confidence in the city’s new leadership to address long-standing water system problems—critical issues that directly impact small businesses like hers and others invested in ice cream franchise opportunities.
As the city continues to recover, Ruby Scoops’ resilience reflects the broader strength of Richmond’s small business community and underscores the importance of infrastructure reliability in sustaining the latest ice cream franchise and local entrepreneurship.
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