Smith Insurance Agency building at 503 Galloway St., soon to be Ramone’s Ice Cream Parlor.

Here’s a hot scoop: A plan for an old-time ice cream parlor has won the 12th annual Just-Start Downtown Eau Claire Business Competition. Blayne Midthun’s idea to open Ramone’s Ice Cream Parlor at the corner of Galloway and Farwell streets received the Jim Mishefse Award from Downtown Eau Claire Inc. on Oct. 13. The award comes with $5,000 in start-up capital (that’s a lot of sundaes!), a $500 media package from DECI, a two-hour marketing/brand development session with JB Systems, free website hosting, and more. Midthun intends to open the 1920s-style ice cream emporium next year in the former Smith Insurance Agency building, just a few blocks from the growing Phoenix Park neighborhood. The Runner-Up Prize, which includes $500 in start-up capital and other extras, went to Benny Haas for HaHa Fresh Market, a “new grocery store experience” slated for the former Boys & Girls Club building on Graham Avenue. Meanwhile, Katy Stevens of N7 Café – which serves cold-brew and nitrogen-infused coffee – won the Innovative Idea Prize, a $1,000 scholarship to the Small Business Development Center’s Entrepreneurial Training Program. Charles Grossklaus, former president and CEO of Royal Credit Union, delivered the keynote address and received a special Jump-Start Downtown Eau Claire Award.