Ice Cream Season Kicks Off With New Scoops All Around the Twin Cities

Purple Ice Cream, Keg & Case 928 7th Street West, St Paul

“Sometimes life needs more sprinkles,” is the tagline for this brand new scoop shop opening May 1st in St. Paul. The scoop shop is the work of Brian and Sarah Ingram, whose Purpose Driven Restaurant group also owns Hope Breakfast Bar, The Gnome, and the about-to-reopen Woodfire Cantina. In the case will be a little bit of everything: scratch-made ice cream packed with all kinds of cool flavor bits and spices, plus a selection made by other local shops. “Kids have really had it the hardest this past year,” said Brian, so the goal is to go full Willy Wonka on the fun toppings.

But that doesn’t mean the adults will get left out. Because the stand is right next to their other restaurant inside, it means that the liquor license has been extended. This means, we have our first new boozy shake destination of the summer season. Like an Orange Julius meets mimosa sort of situation.

Flavors and types of ice cream are entirely inclusive with vegan, dairy-free, and sugar-free varities available in the case.

The name purple is in homage of the Purple One, and the Vikings. It’s sort of become Minnesota’s signature color.

Like all of the couple’s restaurants, a portion of the proceeds will go to their nonprofit, which helps feed hungry neighbors.

The new Purple Ice Cream location is available because it’s previous tennat, Sweet Science is moving to a new scoop near 50th and France, the Minneapolis/Edina retail hub.

Sweet Science’s flavors are extra rich because of actual science. Ashlee Olds found a way to make a denser, richer ice cream and then proceeded to pile in incredible flavors like smoked vanilla honey, rhubarb cinnamon almond, and even some boozy flavors like a Manhattan. Her business was at first a free sample pop-up that quickly attracted a dedicated following. Next came a short-lived scoop, then the move to Keg & Case, now a permanent home in the Nolan Mains development at 3945 Market Street.

That new shop expects to be open by the end of May. Until then, pints are sold in several local grocery stores including Whole Foods, the Golden Fig, and Kowalskis.

Nellie’s Ice Cream

The longtime location of Izzy’s Ice Cream storefront on St. Paul’s Marshall Avenue is once again serving cold treats. Nellie’s is a build-your-own ice cream sandwich shop. The business is owned by ice cream experts, the same folks behind Nelson’s Ice Cream in Stillwater.

A dozen or more ice cream flavors are available to scoop and stuff inside two cookies, that can then be toasted in a panini press, making the cookies warm and gooey, with the insides cold and creamy.

The runaway Wedge neighborhood hit, Bebe Zito ice cream is taking its wildly popular burger pop up over to the new Malcolm Yards development in Minneapolis’ Prospect Park. BeBe is the dream of chef Ben and Gabby Spangler. Their ice cream began as a coveted treat whispered and raved about by local chefs before moving to pop-up status, and then the new ice cream shop that just opened last year. Lines are out the door on the weekend, for their playful ice cream flavors, studded with cheffy confections and giddy Saturday-morning cartoon style fun, but also for the limited-time-only burgers. These lovingly smashed beefy patties pair perfectly with an ice cold shake or a few scoops of the sweet stuff.

Their new shop is one of several opening in this years-in-the-works food hall that is now slated for grand opening early summer.

For those that can’t wait until then, Bebe Zito opens at noon daily at 704 W. 22nd Street in Minneapolis with flavors like Dad’s Coffee, coffee and bourbon swirled with chocolate chips, Breakfast Club with Fruity Pebbles and Lucky Charms cereals mixed with marshmallows in a Fiori di Sicilia base (citrus vanilla), or a vegan chocolate hazelnut base mixed with cookie dough. And those are just the ice creams. There are also shakes plus those Saturday and Sunday served burgers.