Even with the arrival of frigid temperatures and the polar vortex in the Midwest, Jefferson City residents haven't lost their appetite for ice cream.
While sales may not rival those of the summer months, restaurants offering ice cream still had local customers.
Buddy Scott, owner of Cold Stone Creamery, served 50 customers Monday despite subzero temperatures and hazardous road conditions.
"I thought that was quite good. I didn't think anybody would get out at all," Scott said.
Scott believes an excess of time spent indoors can incite people to leave home.
"They (customers) were going stir crazy and needed to get out of the house. Even though the roads were bad, the foot traffic was good," he said.
Though Scott still serves ice cream to individual customers, sales of chocolate and ice cream cakes amplify profits during the winter, which he considers the "slowest time of year."
He also shares some dubious wisdom with his customers to encourage their purchase of ice cream.
"It's a known thing...ice cream is a diet food because ice cream makes your body colder and it takes more energy to warm it back up. I don't know if it's true or not but it sounds nice," he said, laughing.
Despite decreased sales during the winter months, Scott remains hopeful.
"Every day is a good day for ice cream," he said.
Lesadra Redmon, shift manager at Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, noticed a continued demand for frozen custard despite freezing temperatures.
Though sales of frozen custard are "a little slower," Redmon said Freddy's receives more orders for frozen custard compared to other food items during the night, which sometimes comes as a surprise.
"It's really cold outside, and I'm like: "You still want custard?'" she said.
During the winter, Freddy's continues to make a quantity of frozen custard similar to that of other months because of the persistent demand for frozen custard.
"A lot of (customers) have a sweet tooth. I guess late at night, you don't want to eat too much food but you still want your sweet tooth fix," Redmon said.
Joshwa Holmes, general manager of the local branch of Baskin Robins, provided a perspective similar to that of Scott in regards to lack of ice cream sales during the winter.
"We don't have a high demand for ice cream, honestly ... with the snow," Holmes said.
In response to the trend of decreased winter sales, Baskin Robins offers special promotions in addition to its holiday flavors in an effort to entice customers, he said.
"We get people in with changing up the flavors," Holmes said.
Seasonal flavors such as peppermint, eggnog and white chocolate are among the most popular.
Holmes believes the variety of flavors available at Baskin Robins also attracts customers.
"In our case, it's the flavors. You can't just go out to the grocery store and pick out the flavors we have," he said.
Though Holmes does not "anticipate too many customers" in the next few days, he continues to serve customers with a unique desire for cold desserts in the winter.
"It's hard to get customers in the cold, but there are some people who prefer ice cream in the winter because it doesn't melt as quickly," Holmes said.
"The winter weather affects people wanting a cold treat," he said.