What an apt name…read more
Indeed, this place seems to be some sort of hodge podge whatnot shop. Seriously, if you want to find the ice cream parlor, you have to go all the way to the back of the store, but first you have to walk through a weird version of a small town "gamer's paradise" of sorts. They have D & D stuff, video games, faux medieval style weaponry and what appeared to be the tools of the trade for LARPing and Cosplay fans. I don't know. It was weird. However, the ice cream shop in the back wasn't half bad.
The serve Dean's Country Fresh brand ice cream, which isn't all that special, I know. I can buy that by the gallon in the grocery store for less, but it's an ice cream shop and they don't all sell specialty Guernsey Farms Dairy brand ice cream treats, now do they? Let's be honest here- most of them offer up the same stuff by the scoop that we can easily pick up for a whole lot less at the local 7-11, I'm just saying. Still, Dean's is actually pretty decent and I will buy it now and then again at the grocery store, so I'm not complaining- seriously.
Anyway, back to this particular ice cream shop. Yes, it was definitely odd, with a rather strange layout and all, but they had quite a few flavors, including Peanut Butter Moose Tracks, Mackinac Island Fudge, Maple Nut, and Caramel Caribou, just to shortlist a few of the most popular varieties sold here. The selection was adequate and they didn't appear to be out of any flavors, which was good, so there's that. I hate it when my favorite ice cream flavor is out. What a bummer!
My husband and I both ordered single scoop waffle cones, which came up to about $5.50 total, which isn't bad, I guess, for an ice cream parlor. Isn't that what most ice cream cones cost nowadays? Their single scoop waffle cones seemed pretty average in size to me. They weren't generous nor skimpy, just average, more or less. Truth be told, there isn't any competition in the area from what I could see, so I can't see why they shouldn't become a mainstay around the immediate vicinity since they appear to be the only game in town as far as ice cream shops are concerned, other than maybe McDonald's. I don't live around here, but the thought of having a nearby ice cream shop within walking distance would likely be a real asset to a lot of folks around here.
Aside from ice cream novelties, they sold Kogel's hot dogs, coffee, popcorn and other snack foods as well. While not exactly a takeout spot, they did have a few other options on their menu other than ice cream.
Customer service was a little lacking. We weren't greeted or anything when we came in and we had to ask where the ice cream shop was located. Heck, the employees mostly kept their heads down and paid no heed to the customers around them, although they weren't rude or anything of the sort, just not friendly. The guy waiting on us said they'd only bought the place maybe a month or so ago and they were still getting used to things. Maybe, who knows? While they do accept credit cards- they use an Intuit card reader on a tablet- they had a hard time processing my "black card." He had to manually punch it in on the computer because the card reader was already damaged, which he mentioned during the transaction. I wonder how the card reader could get damaged within a month of opening, but that's an answer we'll probably never really know. So, if you're paying with a card, you might have to wait a bit (with dripping ice cream in hand, no less) while they process the transaction, unless you decide to pay with cash. Hopefully, they will get a new card reader in place as soon as possible.
