A sweet, colorful treat will brighten up the corner of Madison and Dunklin streets this spring as the Ice Cream Factory plans to make its Capital City debut.
Shannon Imler, co-owner of the Eldon-based Ice Cream Factory, plans to open an ice cream shop at 701 Madison St. in March 2020.
"Jefferson City lacks the quality of ice cream that we can provide," Imler said. "We have so many people who drive from Jefferson City to Eldon all of the time, so we've had a lot of people reach out to us that wanted it in Jefferson City."
Imler and his wife and fellow co-owner, Katie, opened the Ice Cream Factory in Eldon in April.
When customers enter the 1,200-square-foot ice cream shop, they will be greeted by 34 flavors of ice cream - including Oreo cheesecake, gooey butter cake, peanut butter blast, and "cookie monster" with blue ice cream and cookies.
There will also be 40 toppings, ice caramel lattes, frappes and slushies. Customers will also be able to purchase sodas and pre-packaged gallons and pints of ice cream.
The large menu behind the counter will list the products, along with the ice cream flavors and what a scoop would look like. Imler said he hopes this will make the selection process easier and quicker.
"When you look into the tubs and there's a lot of tubs to look into, people take a long time to decide," he said. "That's something we struggle with and a lot of other places struggle with, getting the customers through the line in a timely fashion and allowing people to get inside to get their ice cream. I think this will definitely help."
There will also be a large gumball machine and a neon sign that reads "Ice cream makes you happy" that people can take photos in front of to show off their ice cream.
Previously home to Doug's Boulevard Motors, the Madison Street location has two garage bay doors that will add a unique twist to the Ice Cream Factory shop. When the weather is nice, Imler plans to open the garage doors and have seating outdoors in addition to the seating inside.
Imler said he thought the location was the perfect fit for the new ice cream shop since it's at a busy intersection. It also won't be overlooked like it might have been if it was on Missouri Boulevard, he said.
Despite the cold weather and early morning Friday, customers filed into Central Dairy, located right down the street from the new Ice Cream Factory location.
Imler said he is not worried about Central Dairy being nearby, adding there is a "noticeable difference" between the two ice cream shops.
He said the Ice Cream Factory produces small-batch ice cream by hand that contains 14 percent butterfat.
"It's a premium-quality ice cream which cannot be found in a scoop shop in Jefferson City," he said. "We're providing a very good experience that cannot be matched in Jefferson City, and we are providing a very good product that cannot be matched in Jefferson City. I don't feel like there is a business that sells scooped ice cream that will compete with our quality or our experience."
The Ice Cream Factory's ice cream will be manufactured in Eldon and transported to the new Jefferson City location, Imler said.
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