Starting a little over two years ago as a small ice cream shop on the corner of Harrison and 24th streets in the Mission District, Jake Godby and Sean Vahey have grown Humphry Slocombe into one of the most unique culinary spots in San Francisco.

Aside from providing ice cream and other treats at their shop, they also provide dessert for several restaurants throughout the city. And now, they have signed a book deal to publish secrets of the trade, their humble beginnings and how they came up with some of those unique ice cream flavors, to be titled “Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream Book.”

“We opened up with no money a little over two years ago. And so we couldn’t do PR,” said Godby. “We’re in a little, tucked away corner in the Mission, so we had to utilize every free resource that was available. So we used Twitter and Facebook, which were free.”

Godby said the shop’s “unique and sassy” tweets quickly gained momentum and they soon had thousands of followers (over 311,000 to date). Utilizing social media, they now have a large group of fans who flock to the shop for flavors like “Jesus Juice, Secret Breakfast and Boccalone Prosciutto.”

“They just make sense to me,” said Godby about some of the flavors. “I’ve been cooking for a long time, but I’m not a classically-trained pastry chef. I come from a savory background and that’s just the way I approach food. I don’t limit myself to the classic sweet combinations.”

He said the book will give readers a backstory on the shop along with some of the craziness they have encountered since opening Humphry Slocombe.

Godby and Vahey have sent the first draft to publishers and hope to have the book completed by the end of the year. But until then, they will continue creating new flavors and filling the Mission with thousands of happy ice cream seekers.

• Tag: Book Deal, Humphry Slocombe, ice cream, Mission District, Social Media