For years I thought of homemade ice cream as a treat to pick up and lick as we strolled urban locations, like our first favorites about 30 years ago on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul and in the Minneapolis lakes district. It was about the whole experience of the destination, not just the ice cream.
Over the years I have come to discover there are great neighborhood homemade ice cream shops scattered throughout the metro, in suburban as well as urban locations… and they keep growing. We keep trying to discover homemade ice cream shops that are new to us.
Not long ago we made our first visit to Big Dipper Creamery in North Oaks. They had a good selection of homemade ice cream flavors and even had a good selection of ‘fashion’ sodas… found ‘Dang!’ root beer, which is a favorite with our family.
I have since learned that Big Dipper Creamery is a family business spanning three generations, starting 30 years ago in Sarasota, FL with Grandma Sharron. When she decided to retire, her family brought everything from Florida up to Minnesota and opened Big Dipper Creamery in Blaine in 2003. It obviously did well because in 2017 they expanded and opened the store we visited in North Oaks.
Their website says they serve 52 changing flavors made in house in Blaine and 32 in North Oaks, with dairy free, gluten free, and vegan options available. We may have to head north one day to try more flavors at the ‘big’ Big Dipper creamery!
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com
