Open Cabinets

[Cowboy Bob in PA]

Hi All, I'm new to this business, I have an Old Dr.'s office on a main street in a small town. Built Circa 1850. In my basement there is a Soda Fountian from across the street. (an Old *****tore) I plan to open up an Ice cream Palour. It has a seperate entrance, I want to do Hand Dipped Ice Cream.
So now to my question: My wife and I went to an old fashioned Ice Cream Palour last night and observed that the cabinets were uncovered. Is this a common practice and is this the secret to being able to scoop out Ice Cream and putting it in a cone, without breaking the cone?
My next question Do you weight your cones or for a single scoop just one or one and a half? Please help Cowboy Bob in PA

[icecreamfan]

Having the dipping cabinets uncovered can run up your electricity bill depending on the season and how cold you keep it in your shop. I would just recommend buying a high quality dipping cabinet that won't make your ice cream so cold it becomes so hard that it breaks the cone.

The amount of ice cream you put on your cone will depend on how much you are charging. My advice would be to charge a little more in order to give the customer a larger portion. People like big sizes and feel cheated if its too small. However for gelato, smaller portions work.

Hope this helps! Have you got the shop up and running yet?