How did Nancy Saltzman go from running a valet parking service to selling organic ice cream?

It began when Saltzman, president of Miracle Mile-based all-female parking service Valet Girls, wanted her young children to have organic, all-natural ice cream but couldn’t find any that didn’t taste like cardboard.

So when longtime friend Stephen Bikoff suggested they start an artisan ice-cream parlor together, Saltzman signed on.

Saltzman and Bikoff launched L.A. Creamery last year with their personal savings. The first store opened at Westfield Topanga mall in Canoga Park in November and the second shop is set to open next month at Americana at Brand in Glendale. They plan to open 10 more by next year.

Meanwhile, L.A. Creamery has been getting requests from local hotels and restaurants – even the chef at Google’s Santa Monica campus – to buy the ice cream wholesale so they can sell it as dessert. In response, the Miracle Mile company recently started a wholesale division, and also plans to start selling its ice cream by the carton to be sold at gourmet stores and supermarkets later this year.

L.A. Creamery, which has 14 employees, makes its ice cream without preservatives, hormones or artificial ingredients, using an organic ice-cream base made by Straus Family Creamery in Northern California. It sells flavors such as brown butter pecan; salted caramel; and dark chocolate-Kahlua, which is spiked with the coffee-flavored liqueur. The store also sells cookies, cakes and pies.

Malcolm Stogo, head of West Orange, N.J.-based ice-cream consultancy Malcolm Stogo Associates, said L.A. Creamery could benefit as the frozen yogurt craze fades.

“Frozen yogurt has reached a saturation point,” Stogo said. “The only people doing well in that area are self-service people and even that will peak in about a year. People are expecting artisan ice cream to be a good product. It’s called the wow factor.”

But Saltzman isn’t planning on putting Valet Girls on ice anytime soon. For one thing, it’s easier to run now.

“The beginning was harder because you are trying to set it up,” she said. “But I have great people working for me and I have an assistant and I separate my time equally.”