courtesy Sweet Science
Sweet Science Ice Cream
A bit of sweetness to look forward to, ice cream is coming back to the 50th & France neighborhood. Ashlee Olds is opening a Sweet Science Ice Cream shop in the Nolan Mains complex within a few weeks.
"I'm very excited to finally have my own actual storefront," Olds told me over the phone. Her all-natural organic ice cream company, launched in 2011, started with Olds just hosting free samplings of test flavors. Soon she was packing pints and getting them onto shelves in grocery stores, and menus of coffee shops and restaurants. She found herself scooping from the lower level of the Como Pavilion during the summer of 2018, before finally launching a stall in the Keg & Case Market later that year.
building front
The new storefront in Edina, tucked back in the Nolan Mains project.
"But this is our first official stand-alone scoop shop and it's exciting!" Unfortunately, the small business doesn't have the bandwidth to operate two locations, so they will not be part of the Keg & Case mix when the food hall re-opens this spring. "We really need to focus on the new shop, but our production remains in St. Paul. We are a St. Paul-based company, and still doing curbside pick-up from the production kitchen. It's a pretty sure bet that we'll be back there some day."
For now, the team is building out a fresh space in the Nolan Mains building, close to where The Lynhall and Six For Good have opened. Tucked back from the street, the shop will open onto the plaza area where there are benches and public outdoor seating areas. With the closing of Edina Creamery, the locals will surely be glad to see the scoop wall and flavors like the wicked and audacious Pear Riesling, Rhubarb Cinnamon Almond, (and monthly seasonal pints like Sweet Corn Blueberry and Pumpkin Five Spice) ready for spooning hopefully by the end of May.
