Any time I am in the Downtown Bloomington area, I make a point to stop at Gene's Dairy Delight. Its a 50+ year landmark business in the Bloomington area, not just for amazing soft serve custard but for friendly fast service. You can walk up or hit the drive thru but always the same great service and wonderful soft serve. They have an extensive menu with something for everyone in your group! I especially recommend the strawberry lemon twist soft serve. Delicious and refreshing on a hot summer day. Highly recommend this business for yummy treats in the heart of Bloomington! Cash only so hit the ATM before you stop by and tell them Kate sent you! read more

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This stuff doesn't even taste like real ice cream but like frozen substitute. A small serving is tiny, but the price isn't. One visit for us was enough. read more

It's soft serve ice cream, good stuff. Though I will say it's a wee bit... I don't know how to put it... Watery? There's something to be noted about the texture of this ice cream - it's soft serve, as in it's lickable, however it holds its shape quite well to also be eaten with a spoon. Overall, I'd recommend this place. 9/10. read more

Gene's Dairy Delight - Sundae with marshmallow creme. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

Soft serve ice cream was delicious and worth the trip. I highly recommend you give this place a try ! read more

Gene's Dairy Delight - Menu - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

Review Visit: September 9th, 2015 Gene's is a sweet place to go. Another trip to Bloomington/Normal means another stop at an ice cream shack and another blog in a long string of ice cream shack posts. This one happened near the time ice cream shacks start to wind down for the season. As with most ice cream shacks, Gene's is one of those small buildings that only offers outside seating. But, I do recall there being a drive-thru, which is not rare but somewhat uncommon for ice cream shacks. On this particular day, my girlfriend and I parked behind the building and walked around to the front to place an order. After looking over the relatively simple menu, I decided upon the strawberry shortcake sundae. Aside from peanut butter-flavored things, strawberry-flavored things are my go-to items when I order sweets. I don't remember what my girlfriend ordered (maybe a banana split?) but I know that it didn't take long for our diabetes-in-a-cup order to be called out. As I said in the last paragraph, the menu is simple compared to other ice cream shacks. I suffer easily from choice paralysis, so the lack of a million options was a breath of fresh air. We hung out around the building as we chowed down (can you chow down ice cream?) our snacks. Each bite was a bliss of strawberry heaven. After I finished off my sundae, I debated going back up and asking if they offered free refills. My girlfriend said I was being silly and too optimistic. So, I didn't. But I did consider it for the comedic value. Any who, Gene's was a treat to visit. The menu was simple and offered a lot while offering not a lot at the same time. The parking situation is different. You park behind the building and walk around to the front to place the order. You can pull around the building and use the drive-thru, but you have to order from your passenger side due to street directions, I believe. I don't think I said this in all the other ice cream shack posts but a lot of these places are CASH ONLY, so make sure you have some just in case. read more

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Excellent service and great prices. I came here as a child and realize others must like this store because they keep coming back.

Best.soft serve. In. Illinois. Period Custard like soft serve with great service ...... don't tell Carls read more

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Basic classic ice cream place in Bloomington. Gene's Dairy Delight has a simple little menu. It has pretty typical ice cream sundaes. Also there's not even some hot food like many other ice cream stands have. They're cash only. A small place has a small menu. It's really some basic stuff. They have ice cream and not much else besides that. Just things to keep cool. They do also have slushies. It's about $1.80 or so for a small one in a cup. These come in a few flavors, and are simple but good. Has a drive thru but it's not always faster. It's also a tight parking lot. They're cash only and only open for spring and summer. read more

Gene's Dairy Delight - Lemon Lime Slushie - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

Genes is a local ice cream shop with some of the best soft serve ice cream ever. It's an awesome experience because you get to go up to the window to order and then there are benches to chill on and eat your ice cream. The service is also really good, I would most definitely recommend genes read more

Always a great choice. Staff is very friendly. Ice cream is amazing with many choices. Small drive thru or walk up counter and places to sit on the side. read more

Family favorites are turtle sundaes, chocolate soda, and my favorite a lemon cone. Affordable for large families too! read more

Gene's Dairy Delight - Menu - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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Old style walk up ice dream. Basic menu. Friendly staff. Great prices. Good quality. Not your place if you want 32 varieties and to taste everything. Sundaes, shakes, cones ... all at great price! read more

Just a little drive up spot for ice cream, but it's truly awesome! Great quality! Feels like a classic ice cream shop. I would highly recommend! read more

Gene's Dairy Delight - Strawberry soft serve topped with marshmallow - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

I definitely recommend coming here for some ice cream and to chill with friends. The price is great for ice cream, and they have some space for you to sit and chat. The people are really nice, and make sure to get your order right. Their ice cream is very rich and milky just a warning for people who are particular about their ice cream. Nonetheless, I love it though! I highly recommend coming here with friends who want to enjoy a cool night and get some ice cream. read more

Gene's Dairy Delight - Large strawberry dipped in butterscotch cone - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

Delicious BBQ sandwiches-best in town in my opinion $5-friendly efficient staff lovely family atmosphere-great prices

This place seems to be a staple in the Bloomington area! It was the first local place we tried after moving here and had no regrets about doing so! I was just happy we had enough cash in the car because we didn't know it was cash only! The parking lot was full, the line in front was long, and the cars were wrapped around the building but it was worth the wait for Gene's! Everything we ordered was amazing and we will definitely be going back soon! I'd personally recommend a shake or the vanilla ice cream with hot peaches! It was amazing! read more

Gene's Dairy Delight - Vanilla Ice Cream with Hot Peaches - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

True delight! Local gem! Praise the ice cream queen! I'm not an ice cream fan whatsoever. Or should I say, I was not! Gene's heavenly delicious soft serve transformed me! Such a rich milky taste with delicate subtle and strong flavors! I tired strawberry, strawberry lemon twist, and chocolate vanilla twist with crunches. All of them tasted absolutely beautiful! It's a shame that they closed last Sunday. But I have one more thing to look forward to about summer! read more

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serving size are shrinking. 2 medium cones @3.99 = $9.50. creative pricing?? very disappointing

Best ice cream in town! It's so creamy and delicious plus the staff are super friendly. Genes is a great Bloomington tradition. Just remember they only take cash!! read more

Best ice cream in Bloomington/Normal! I've been going with my grandparents since I was a little girl, & will continue to forever! I have recommended them to so many friends & they were all so ready to go back. read more

I love Gene's dairy treats. You can't call it ice cream, because they are deliciously made with unicorns tears, which of course is illegal. My favorite part of eating Gene's amazing dairy treats is sitting on the bench watching the employees. They are not happy employees. I am watching the drive up server now. She is pissed. She is glaring at each car as though every driver personally interrupted her own Unicorn tear massage. But no one cares. The treats are so yummy that glaring girl can stare daggers through your skull and you won't care. Yum. read more

The soft serve here is truly unique! It has a soft, rich, and almost buttery texture! I would bet that they use a higher grade cream (more milk fat, yum!) in their mix. It is seriously the bomb diggity, but if you are expecting "normal" soft serve you'll be surprised. Staff is mostly local high school kids, this place is only seasonal so high school kids are probably the best option to hire. I've never had "bad" service here. Only negative is that it is cash only. Although, there is an ATM a parking lot over. read more

Gene's Dairy Delight - Gene's! Woo! - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

Best in the soft serve in the area!!! Closed in winter which is soooo long. How so we survive???

We've lived here for a couple of years, but hadn't tried Gene's until today. My daughter, her friend and I each had an avalanche. The ice cream was delicious and creamy. The whipped cream was thick and tasty! We'll be back! read more

Gene's Dairy Delight - a hand holding a cup of ice cream - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

This is another one of those places that people who were raised in the area seem to love. It's all right. Not terrible. The soft serve is not all that great. I got their version of the blizzard and found that the lower half of my cup didn't have much of the candy mixture I ordered. My girlfriend enjoys it so we stop in once in a while. I prefer it to Carl's. Most of that has to do with the bad customer service at Carl's. I will never park in their parking lot again. I was not aware of what a nightmare it is. I parked in one of the spots behind the building. I could not leave for a while because their drive thru line is right behind the parking spots. There was car after car pulling in the drive thru so it took a while. When I saw an opening it I floored it out of there. read more

This classic walk-up and drive-thru ice cream shop was just the cutest blast from the past. Dishing out soft serve frozen yogurt sundaes and cones that are straight out of a 1950's movie. Ordered a carmel, pecan, and banana sundae, that almost looked too good to eat. Though the lack of a photo with this review tells you the emphasis was on "almost," because I devoured that delight so fast there wasn't much to photograph after. I recommend stopping on your way through town. read more

Went here for what we heard was a great Bloomington treat. Was thoroughly unimpressed. The soft serve tasted like frozen cool whip. I could only eat about 5 bites and threw the rest away. (well not really I left it on my kitchen table and the next day threw it away but not before looking at a weird congealed not really melted substance) There is another local ice cream place in town heck even multiple chain places that are better. read more

Next time, I will pass. After 14 years of living in Bloomington and Carl's Ice Cream being my local ice cream shop of choice, I stopped by Gene's because it was the closest location to satisfy my warm brownie and ice cream craving. What I received was a mound of their soft-serve ice cream topped with "hot fudge" aka chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a handful of pecans that cost almost $1 extra. All of that plopped in between 2 cosmic brownies. You know, the Little Debbie ones that you can get at the gas station. Actually it was one brownie broken in half. With a cherry on top. I felt insulted that I had spent $6.41 for this contraption when I could have spent less by going to the gas station for a pint of ice cream and a cheap brownie if that's what I had wanted. If this is what they'll serve, just take the brownie and ice cream combo off the menu! Don't they know they have competitors with much better quality at places where I can actually even sit down if I want to? As a small business owner, I want to support the local economy but I have no reason to go back to Gene's. read more

It's one of the few "local" kind of places (i.e. not a chain), that's fairly well known. My kids love going here, as they have candy "eyeballs" they put on the kids cones. They have many different flavors of frozen yogurt (vanilla, chocolate, lemon, strawberry, etc.), so it allows for some different types of flavor combinations. In my opinion, the yogurt is pretty thick, so even a small cone can be filling. The last few times I've been there, the vanilla has lacked much vanilla flavor, but the lemon is very flavorful. It's usually pretty packed for such a small local place. The drive through is a bit awkward, but they usually move the cars through pretty quickly. read more

Great simple ice cream. I got a vanilla soft serve and it was exactly what I was looking for. No frills, simple old school ice cream. Stay simple and you can't go wrong. read more

The best banana split in town! Period! The skrawberry/lemon ice cream is To Die For. Sometimes get a quart of that to go and put it over lemon pound cake w/fresh strawberries. read more

Gene's Dairy Delight - Best banana split in town - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Bloomington, Illinois

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I am in love! Gene's serves up some of the best soft serve I have ever had. In fact, I am craving some right now. They do not skimp on the avalanche mix-ins thankfully and the ice cream is so creamy and delicious. read more

The best ice cream sundaes !!! I live in Lincoln Illinois and when I come to Bloomington I always stop by Genes for an ice cream. I used to go to Sonic, but not since I discovered Genes read more

I must have received different ice cream than everyone that likes this place. I couldn't even finish my small cone the ice cream was so unappealing. Packaged ice cream at the store is much better than what you get at Gene's. read more

Low quality ice cream, pumped full of air. Tasteless. Yuck!!

My favorite ice cream shoppe of all time. Their ice cream is thick and velvet. Favorite is plain, soft serve strawberry. Cookie dough avalanche is thick, full of dough, and overflowing the cup for any size that you buy. Pricey for these, though - $4 for medium. Nonetheless, they have cheaper options - their cones are huge and range from $1.25 to $3. Popsicles are small cups of kool-aid with a stick in them. My family digs their chili dogs, so the place does have more than ice cream. Drive-through is fast, but the line is always 10+ cars down the street. Worth the wait!! read more

The best soft serve ice cream in IL, hands down. If it's the right time of year, it's the right stop to make.

Best ice cream I have ever had. I grew up in Bloomington, so lots of memories of coming here after school or on a hot summer day. Moved to chicago 2 years ago and whenever I visit Bloomington, Genes is a must!! read more

Ice cream was good, but I would not go out of my way to get. I've had better ice cream. Service was very good. Only complaint was that my husbands malt was not thick. Also, only accept cash. read more

In the long standing local ice creme war between Carl's and Gene's I'm a Gene's man. The drive through is fast, as is the walk-up. The location isn't perfect for the amount of business they do on most summer nights but the wait is well worth it! Always friendly people serving. I find it hard to believe anyone can make a trip without a smile on their face. read more