After a three hour kayak trip to Turnip Rock, we were desperate for some ice cream to refuel. We heard about the large scoops of homemade ice cream at Grindstone General Store and headed over immediately. When we arrived, we saw a huge line out the door, with cars parked all along the road down probably around a quarter mile. That seemed promising! As you enter building, you snake through some of the eclectic goods the store sells - things like custom made chess sets, cute cartoon character and fish shaped soaps, etc. It looks like all of the good being sold are local or at least from Michigan. You'll have plenty of time to browse, since it takes almost 30 minutes from setting foot in the shop to actually reaching the front of the line. It's actually overall pretty well organized. There are two doors on the exterior of the store, but they removed the outside handle on one of the doors so it can only be used as an exit. The shop mainly serves Stroh's ice cream, but they have a tub or two of Guernsey Dairy, and a freezer of ten home made flavors. Of course, we had to get the homemade ice cream only. Please note that the owner can be kind of gruff - before you get to the counter, make sure to know exactly what cone, size, and flavors you want. I don't think they offer any samples. Two Scoops in a Cup ($4.25 first scoop, $2.25 second) - They certainly aren't lying about having giant scoops of ice cream! They actually have a display up showing that a scoop is softball sized with a 14oz volume. That's basically like a pint by itself. We decided to get two flavors in a cup: Horchata and Black Raspberry Bugaboo. The horchata is rich, creamy and filled with vanilla and cinnamon. The ice cream is premium (but I wouldn't say it's super premium) with generally low overrun and higher butterfat, giving a delicious creamy mouthfeel. The sweetness is perfect for ice cream - it's sweet but not achingly so. There are a small amount of ice crystals that formed around some of the cinnamon, but it was only a very small amount and not detrimental enough for me to drop my score. (5/5) The Black Raspberry Bugaboo tastes very artificial. It takes the flavor of raspberry and amps it up to 300% so that it's very sweet with a heavy artificial tart flavor. It's studded with chocolate cups that are filled with maraschino cherry type of flavor as well, and mixed with ribbons of Hershey's chocolate fudge. Not my favorite flavor of ice cream (I was expecting this to be natural raspberry), but I can see it appealing to some. (3/5) There's a choice of sugar cone, waffle cone ($1.25 up charge), or plastic cup. We opted for the cup for two reasons: the sugar cone doesn't look like it can contain the amount of ice cream they serve, and it looks like they get their waffle cones premade from Jagger Cone. The waffle cones come with a paper holder with a flare around to catch any ice cream drips. If you want to enjoy their homemade ice cream at home, they do sell prepacked quarts in a freezer. I wish there was an option for smaller scoops; while I managed to finish two scoops with my partner, I saw many others whose eyes were bigger than their stomachs and ended up having to throw out most of their ice cream. In fact, we saw large piles of ice cream sitting in the nearby trash can. What a waste of food. Bathrooms - Single porta potty outside Overall rating of the food this visit: 4/5 read more

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Huge portion. Loved it. Ate it all lol. Was told about it by a friend. Did not let us down read more

Grindstone General Store - Butter pecan waffle cone - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Port Austin, Michigan

Stroh's ice cream, giant scoops. Small old fashioned general store with a few gift items. Was a decent experience besides the absolutely surly young man working the cash register. Backward baseball cap, black Santa Cruz tshirt, beard/mustache. Super rude, rolled his eyes because we asked for a couple samples and my seven year old was a bit indecisive. read more

Grindstone General Store - Chocolate almond single scoop - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Port Austin, Michigan

They do live up to their claim of having the biggest cones in the thumb. 24 flavors of Stroh's Ice cream and 9 homemade. Competitive prices on the cones not so much on the souvenirs and trinkets. I don't think the waffle cones are made in house but it was fresh and crispy all the same. No indoor seating. Outdoor bench and picnic table seating with most shaded. Limited lot and street parking. NO indoor restrooms or hand washing stations, just an outdoor porta potty. Young, friendly staff that verbally thank you for your tip. I would return if I was in the area. read more

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As per the service the owner can work on his greetings and be a little friendlier. The ice cream is really good, but get of holder of yourself dude when you are in demand expect a lot of customers. Really I mean don't you like money ? It's a touristy place so what do you expect? I do recommend stop here but don't let it ruin your mood when you get here. Theres a lot of things to be thankful for in this world and enjoying ice cream is one of them. I hope the experience here can b come a pleasant one. That's is all. Chief Bluebell ice cream the best ice cream in the country. GOD BLESS TEXAS! read more

Grindstone General Store - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Port Austin, Michigan

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4 stars for the sheer volume of ice cream you get. In terms of a general store, there wasn't much for sale other than a few souvenirs and Saunders cakes. Pay attention when you enter, because that is where the flavor list is for the ice creams. You get an absurd amount of ice cream for just a few dollars. I felt it was better quality than the quick-stop places, but below a lot of the farms such as Gurnsey or Moomers. It was pretty good, though. Only one of my kids was able to finish their small cones and it probably took 30 minutes or so to do it. I grabbed the bear claw flavor and was satisfied. It is a good stop on a hot day and definitely something you will remember afterwards. There isn't a lot of parking, so you will likely end up parking on the side of the road across the street. read more

Grindstone General Store - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Port Austin, Michigan

This place was dirty, stinky, and not well kept. One of the workers used the outhouse right outside as we were eating. There was no way for him to wash his hands so it was unsanitary. We had no idea the only restroom was the outhouse until after eating and ordering. They also were touching the ice cream when they were putting it in the cup like they've never scooped ice cream before. Overall, big mistake, don't go here. They give a lot of ice cream, but at what cost! Ice cream was okay, nothing special. I would skip. P.S. this is coming from someone not from the thumb, so know I'm telling the truth. read more

Grindstone General Store - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Port Austin, Michigan

Great place to get some ice cream. Was recommended by people we were camping with. The place is a cute little store that sells ice cream. Parking lot was small and people had to park on the side of the road. But that is alright. They have the flavors posted on the wall and you go up and just tell them what you want. All the seating is outside. The best part is the variety of flavors they have. Also, the amount you get is insane. The scoops are huge. The staff there ate nice and get your order pretty quickly. Would recommend if you are visiting this area. read more

Wow! Delicious ice cream, generous scoop sizes at unreal prices! I had the blueberry waffle cone, highly recommend. read more

This is a classic, "must do" when you're in the area. More organized than it was pre-Covid. Quite a few flavors to choose from. Outdoor seating area is convenient. HUGE servings. read more

Great summertime tradition for our family. Many flavors to choose from. We really enjoy taking first timers. read more

If you love ice cream, this place is all about the experience. It's the type of place where memories are made of that special trip you took up north and you'll be talking to others about that biggest helping of ice cream you ever had! Whether it's a cone or cup, it's definitely a heaping helping! They even have some homemade flavors that are very good so why not try something different! Be careful of the size you order because their sizing isn't what you think! Huge, a lot, big, hefty, heaping are not understatements. So don't be surprised at the mound of ice cream you get even in the smallest 'baby' size! More seating could be a plus since we stood outside to eat ours but all in all, they have a great business with plenty of help. The lines in the prime time of summer can sometimes be long with eager adults and children waiting patiently for their choice of delicious flavors, but hey, you're here to hopefully relax and enjoy some 'down' time. So stop in if you're in the area, or heck, take a little while to go off the beaten path and enjoy this place for what it has to offer. You'll leave with some true tales to talk about when you get home! read more

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Great ice cream, very responsible prices. Friendly service. We stop every time we go to Port Austin.

Cashier is very rude. They claim they have "big" ice cream, but they don't even stuff it into the cone, the ice cream tastes OK. The place is usually never crowded because most people go to the better place just up the street, Rybak's. Grindstone is also pretty costly. The ambience is not great, due to the rudeness of the cashier who is usually working there. read more

Make it a point to stop and have a scoop, or two, or three. Absolutely delish. Our tummies are happy!

2020-07-25. Grindstone General Store. Grind Stone, MI. So our original plan was to hit up Rybak's, but COVID has them closed for the season. This was supposed to be the end of our day trip of Michigan's Thumbnail before our drive back home. So I decided to check out Grindstone because of their 14 oz scoops, and you can get up to five! We made the short drive from Port Austin to Grind Stone and the General Store is located in a remote area, away from the town. Located on Copeland Rd, there is really nothing around, so if you don't know the place, you won't find it. It's literally down the street from Rybak's Ice Cream, and when we arrived, the place was packed. Cars were parked on the shoulder of the two lane Copeland Rd and people were milling around enjoying their ice cream. Face masks are required for entry as declared by Governor Whitmer and social distancing was enforced. If The General Store was in fact the General Store at one point in time, it has now been reduced to pretty much an Ice Cream parlor and souvenir shop. While in queue, we had a chance to peruse the menu of flavors. The General Store proudly serves Stroh's Ice Cream, a native Detroit business that converted from alcohol to Ice Cream, a transition most never would have guessed possible. I was hoping that they would serve flavors not found in grocery stores in addition to them serving the premium end of Stroh's Ice Cream line. While they did have some unique flavors we haven't seen at Kroger's, nothing caught our eye or our cravings. I wasn't able to ascertain the level of ice cream they were serving, whether it was Stroh's premium line, or grocery chain line, so we decided to play it safe and assume the worse. Don't get me wrong, Stroh's is a local favorite of many, but it just wasn't what we were looking for. I honestly thought it was home made ice cream and from what I read, this place was a hidden gem. It's definitely hidden, but I'm not so sure about the gem part. The venue is great, there are some picnic benches out front and on the side lot adjacent to the building. With nothing special to write home about, we actually ended up not placing an order, and decided to head back to Port Austin and check out the Blue Moon Ice Cream Shoppe because it would be on our way home. I read some pretty good things about The General Store, but I was looking for more, a lot more really. My disappointment is what brings me to go against the grain and give The General Store 2 stars. Since this rating is NOT INDICATIVE of the food quality, rather more my experience, I ask that you take it at face value. In an effort to not damage it's current rating based on my fellow Yelpers, I'm rating this review with 4 stars despite my personal rating of 2 stars. The only other notable was that I was unable to check-in on Yelp while at The General Store, I lost phone signal! Driving back down the street to Rybak's, my signal picked up again, and my pending check-in went through. So if anyone out there is reading this and has a connection to someone who works for AT&T, Grind Stone City has an area for improvement. I'm sure Verizon can hear me, AT&T, can you hear me now? In the meantime, it would also be a nice gesture and convenience if The General Store provided free WiFi for their customers. Who knows, this may also increase the number of reviews they get. If you would like to experience more, come dine-with-me.yelp.com I'd love to have your company... Bon Appétit! read more

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Went there in late summer on my motorcycle! Great selection of ice cream & GREAT price. Plenty of outdoor seating. Accommodating of my dog with a pup-cup read more

You think you like ice cream? Yeah?? Well the true ice cream lovers are revealed at Grindstone's. Order the baby size and you'll be confronted with a scoop the size of your head. Even the cones are made larger to support the mass of ice cream. The kiddie size is two scoops even bigger than your head, and don't be fooled- the "triple" is actually FIVE scoops. Crazy. The line is super long and it's located in the middle of nowhere, but that's the charm. It's a delicacy and a tradition, and you have to wait in order to earn it. There's unique flavors such as "banana Oreo" and outdoor seating too! read more

Grindstone General Store - Unreal big scoops - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Port Austin, Michigan

This was, by far, the coolest food stop of our day. We were exploring the thumb and I found this place mentioned on the Pure Michigan site. Located off M-25 on a dirt road, this is a hidden gem as the last store standing from Grindstone City. It features little knickknacks and local artist items for sale, and then there is the ice cream. THE PORTIONS ARE $%^@#* HUGE. We shared a kiddie sized waffle cone and it was plenty for two adults. I asked the young man behind the counter if anyone ever orders a triple and he said "Yeah, about 10-15 a month." Me "DO THEY LIVE TO TELL THE TALE?!?!?!?!:" Him: "Yep." They had some standard flavors and some unique ones, we tried the Sanders Bumpy Cake flavor by Stroh's and it was unbelievable. They also give you the cones in this little plastic thing that stops the ice cream from running down your hand. GENIUS. The parking along the side only had a few spaces, but you can pull off the road across the street. It's about a two hour drive for us from home, but count on us visiting again the next time we are in the area!!! read more

Grindstone General Store - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Port Austin, Michigan

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They weren't kidding when they advertised themselves as having the biggest ice cream cones in the thumb--it might even have the biggest cones in the entire state. Basically, the smallest size = half a tub of ice cream you find in grocery stores, and the "2 scoops" size = 1 entire tub of ice cream. Their prices were unbeatable for so much ice cream, but I get the feeling that most of it goes to waste, which is unfortunate. Definitely suggest going with the smallest size unless you haven't eaten in 3 days and want to eat something that will keep you full for the next 3 days. They have Dean's ice cream but also a couple options that are made in-house. One of the ones that make themselves uses Bailey's, which is pretty cool, but they ID you so make sure you have your license handy if you want to try it! read more

Grindstone General Store - 2 scoops. Note the size compared to an adult face.. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Port Austin, Michigan

If your looking for huge ice cream cones, you are all set here! I was wanting to browse a general store and maybe get some fudge. Neither happened. They have one wall of touristy chachkees and that is being generous. read more

Definitely "hefty" size scoops, as they advertise, and reasonably priced. The "baby" size is easily three "normal" scoops. The ice cream itself is good, but not outstanding -- of course, that could be the sugar rush still talking. I really liked the plastic cover they put on the (regular) cone; it helps steady the cone and it has a little well to catch any drippings. Ice cream seems to be the thing to do in Port Austin; several different people suggested it to me when I asked what there is of interest. As for the "general" store, it's not really; it's just a mishmash of knicknacks for sale -- nothing you'd consider merchandise that a real general store would have. read more

Grindstone General Store - "Baby" size ice cream in a regular cone. It's easily 3 normal scoops. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Port Austin, Michigan

Ridiculous treatment. Horrible service. When you are an owner and you mess up. Then make it right!! Instead you just lost 2 huge families and we will spread the word. Go down the road for better treatment and better prices. Never again!! read more

We stopped because it was a hot summer day 4th of July weekend and a summer weekend is never complete with ice cream. All the info around says this is the best place to get ice cream. The pictures on yelp tell you that you may need to skip breakfast and lunch to have room for the servings here and they don't lie. Huge scoops of good ice cream, they serve strohs ice cream. They have a couple of flavors of ice cram that are supposed to be home made didn't try them this time around they were all sorbets. Bottom line is that we would go back. It was good ice cream and plentiful servings. Staff is a little rough around the edges, but I imagine that summers are a little stressful for them. read more

I wanted a cream puff sundae with caramel sauce. When I asked for caramel instead of hot fudge, the owner rolled his eyes, sighed, and said "hold on" very rudely and tapped on his computer. He was a complete jerk and basically said f u. After all that, I was handed a sundae with hot fudge, no caramel. Ridiculous! read more

This place is the definition of "off the beaten path." But so worth it! The ice cream is awesome. The picture is a waffle cone with a "baby" scoop. Each scoop is about the size of a softball. Yes... you read that right. A softball! I had the kiddie size (two huge scoops) and needed a lot of help to finish it. If you go on the weekend be prepared to wait in line. We went during the week and there was no line. Also, their parking lot is about 6 spots, so be prepared to park in the road. Check this place out! read more

Grindstone General Store - A baby size scoop of ice cream. Photo courtesy of my wife. - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Port Austin, Michigan

HEADS UP YELPERS !!!! The prior review written by the childish & rude Yelper by the name of Scott sent me the following message to my inbox "You are dumb. The owner is an ass----." NOW why would anyone send another Yelper that review? Because he does not fully comprehend Yelp's guidelines. He is pissed because I wrote a GREAT tip about Steve the proprietor to Grindstone General Store. It was a transparent sincere honest tip IS HIS review honest???? Take his review with a grain of salt as his character speaks loud and clear, pls refer to his personal message to me, I will post it. SCOTT PLS LOOK IN THE MIRROR BEFORE CUTTING DOWN OTHERS!! I HOPE you are a young kid IF not I will pray for you, geeez plssss get a life!!! NOW, I will back up my tip with a review (Thx Scott :) MORE affirmation for Steve & Grindstone) as it was a fun place, the family really enjoyed it!! :) The ice cream was plentiful and to boot it was delicious. It's owners like Steve that enrich self employed businesses. DON'T GET DETOURED ... I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!! read more

Great stop. Nice portions. It felt like we were out in the middle of nowhere, which was a good thing. I don't know why they call it general store, all they do is ice cream. read more

A favorite amongst many for their huge scoops of ice cream. They have various flavors for you to chose from as well as sherbet and milk shakes. This is the go to ice cream in grindstone. read more

Grindstone General Store - Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Near Me - Port Austin, Michigan

Does not dissapoint. Now my GF who is the picky eater, does not eat big portions or really ice cream. So You kow it's good if she asked to stop by again befoer we went home from vacation. The sizes are ridiculous, please look at the size scale on the wall or counter for help. My GF got the baby ( which equals a large everywhere else) and i got the Kiddie ( two scoops but really looks like a triple the scoops are so huge) They have Stroh's but they also have home made ice cream that they make right in the shop. The insides is pretty bare bones. Just a couple things to look at while ur in line, for a " General Store" I expected more. But that's just me. Maybe some old fashioned candy, some old style sodas, some touristy type souveniers or something would probably get them some more revenue, ( not that they need it). It was packed the entire time we were there. Picnic tablesa re outside, but there were packed. So we took it back to the beack. You kow it's a huge cone, when you have a 15 minute drive back to your hotel, You order ice cream, drive back taking your time, and manage to eat the ice cream cone through out the entire sunset. It was Good. Like Everyone else says- Go. Even just for the novelty of it. read more

Most stressful, un-fun ice cream experience we've ever had! The man behind the counter (owner I am assuming from the other reviewers) was incredibly rude, grumpy and condescending. It was as if they wanted us out as fast as possible (it was not busy, there was no line behind us). Young boys serving the ice cream seemed bored and agitated... they were also unfriendly. We saw the size of the huge scoops of the people ahead of us and asked for smaller ones, even though we would still pay full price, and they ignored us. Obviously we couldn't finish them and just ended up wasting food. Ice cream itself was fine, nothing to write home about. Honestly, go somewhere else and have a delightful ice cream experience! read more

Eh, the gimmick is the huge portions. Run of the mill ice cream just in monstrous stupid serving sizes. If you have kids bring lots of wet wipes and water, there is no way provided to clean your hands/face or wash up when you have a complete meltdown mess. Saw multiple people lose their ice cream from their cones, and lots of ice cream is just tossed into the trash because it's just too much. Seems like a waste. Staff wasn't friendly and it wasn't even busy. read more

great ice cream joint. love the people, the atmosphere, the cream... but what are they doing shutting at 8pm?!!! everyone I know looks to go there around 9pm after dinner, but they're always shut. when will they change their hours. they should be open until 10pm, on god. P.s. a quad haiku^ read more

Haven't been to Grindstone in 40 years. I remember going into the General Store for ice cream. The ice cream is delicious just like I remember. Excellent ice cream , excellent service.. read more

I get that its busy sometimes and that the employees answer the same questions every day. However, I'm tired of the rudeness I experience here. If you're not 100% prepared when you go to order, you're greeted with a huff and sigh. Not only that, but the last time I was there one of the workers was dragging his thumb through the ice cream on every scoop. Then, because the scoop was so big, he used his finger and thumb (no glove) to put it on the cone, which grossed me out beyond belief. I'm not sure I can get passed that. Ever. read more

Another great stop in the thumb, all that ice cream was only $25.00. Trust me and get the baby, it's a lot of ice cream. Taste great and the service is great read more

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I had the a superman. Loved that it was a original Superman mmmmm. Ice cream are really big. Go for the baby if you don't want to waste.

I went here with based on a suggestion by a friend. Wow, if you want a lot of ice cream this is the place for you. I got the homemade ice cream and had one scoop. It was enough to fill up two people. I'm not sure how much of a "General Store" it is since it really doesn't sell much besides ice cream. I'm not throwing any stones. Do what you do well and let people know why you are doing that. Seems like that is what this place does. It located in the middle of no where but it was packed. The seating area was not large. It was hard to find a place to fit all 4 of us. It's also sort of dangerously close to the road. When you go here enjoy all that it has to offer. Also, remember that you will get too much ice cream but if you get the largest one and can finish it I would be impressed. read more

Will NOT be repeat customers. The man taking orders and accepting payment was extremely rude, condescending and short with customers while placing their orders. For being a small town business he was anything but hospitable and welcoming. The ice cream was nothing spectacular just run of the mill Stroh's ice cream. The amount of ice cream given was the only plus to this place. We asked about soft serve ice cream and were told ,"We are an ice cream store therefore we do not carry soft serve"; the fact that they didn't have it was not the issue, but the way he spoke down to us was a problem. Hoping others have a more pleasent experience than we had. I wouldn't even give it one star if I had an option. read more

This was the most mediocre ice cream I've ever tasted. A big heaping load of mediocrity served by a visibly miserable, unorganized staff. There apparently is no rhyme or reason to how anyone is served or in what order they are served. One of us had to remind them she never even got what she ordered. I happened to get a waffle cone, which for some reason was flavored with cinnamon, conflicting with what little taste could be detected in the ice cream. My wife got lemon sorbet, which was a color I can only descibe as an alien Highlighter Yellow, an unearthly toxic hue that may very well be visible from space. I might add the "lemon" flavor was equally as natural. On the plus side, there wasn't a long line and I didn't get sick after I ate here. They were also very adamant regarding the cleanliness of their garbage receptacle. I occasionally visit friends in this area and have no desire to visit the business again. Don't believe the hype. read more