While we have a variety of campus cuisine at our fingertips from chicken to pizza to Al’s signature breakfast, there has been a drastic oversight until now.
Think Dairy Queen, Yogurt Lab and Chilly Billy’s — these are just a few places that were taken too soon from our campus.
But finally, ice cream has returned. And we have the inside scoop.
After a year of discussion, Grand Ole Creamery has officially partnered with the Purple Onion Café to sell their ice cream to insatiable college students.
Greg Galles, owner of the new locale, said the Purple Onion location is an “express” creamery. They house 16 rotating flavors, which is just a fraction of the Grand Ole Creamery’s inventory.
The main Creamery is located on Grand Ave. in St. Paul, where hundreds of flavors are available alongside hand-rolled waffle cones.
Grand Ole Creamery exclusively uses local dairy. Their most popular flavor is “Black Hills Gold,” a caramel-based ice cream with pralines and chocolate cookies, Galles said.
The Purple Onion “express” location also features two sorbets for a vegan-friendly and lactose-free option.
“Everybody’s excited that it’s here … apparently it’s hard to get ice cream around campus,” Galles said.
Brinna Hanson, a marketing student at the University of Minnesota, said she wasn’t aware how much of a Minnesotan staple the Creamery is, but she would gladly order their cookies and cream flavor again.
“There isn’t any place to get ice cream except McDonald’s, and that machine is always broken,” Hanson said, echoing the concerns of students across campus.
Aside from the corporate behemoth, McDonald’s, and the new kid in town, Grand Ole Creamery, there has been just one steadfast ice cream seller near campus: Maxwell’s Café and Grill.
Maxwell’s, located on 4th St. and 8th Ave., recently made the switch from serving Minneapolis’ own Sebastian Joe’s ice cream to scooping the Chocolate Shoppe ice cream.
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, the Chocolate Shoppe boasts a variety of carb-filled flavors such as “This $&@! Just Got Serious,” a salted caramel ice cream with salted cashews and sea salt fudge, and classics like mint chip.
The Chocolate Shoppe offers a hidden gem with their highly-caffeinated, espresso-infused flavors “Peanut Butta” and “Iced Latte-Da,” both of which are sold at Maxwell’s.
The shoppe prides itself on its lack of low-fat, low-calorie, low-anything ice cream. Their slogan? “You want nutrition, eat carrots.”
While many fan-favorites have closed their doors, sweet-tooths can now rejoice with a variety of vendors to choose from this summer.
