Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has opened its newest scoop shop at 389 N. Euclid Ave., in the Central West End. As The Scoop reported last November, owner Jeni Britton Bauer’s Ohio-based ice creams have caused a sensation around the country, earning accolades from the James Beard Foundation, Food & Wine, Conde Nast and more. Britton Bauer has inked two cookbooks featuring recipes for her frozen confections and signature desserts.
The 2,000-square-foot shop opened doors today, June 5, and offers 15 rotating flavors of ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet. The milk comes from pasture-raised Ohio cows, and Britton Bauer uses only natural ingredients, not artificial flavorings, stabilizers or emulsifiers. All the frozen sundries and rich sauces are created at Jeni’s Ohio headquarters, then shipped to its 21 locations scattered in seven states.
Upon entering the bright, cavernous shop, customers can order two, three or four half-scoops of staple flavors like Darkest Chocolate or Salty Caramel or try new seasonal creations like Sun-popped Corn, a sweet cream base blended with real popcorn, then strained and churned to create a cold take on the buttery theater snack. Vibrant sorbets and frozen yogurts are available in seasonal flavors, too, like mango lassi and red raspberry.
Jeni’s menu also includes a few sundae options, like the Tin Roof, Ndali Estate vanilla ice cream topped with extra-bitter hot fudge and Virginia peanuts, or the Gooey Butter sundae, which sees brown butter almond brittle ice cream topped with honey-butterscotch sauce and salty caramel sauce. All sundaes are capped with hand-whipped cream and a cherry and served with a Conversation Cookie, a fresh-made waffle cone formed into the shape of a fortune cookie. Inside each contains a question to spark conversation among your tablemates while you indulge at one of the two long community tables in the center of the shop.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Here’s a first look at what to expect when you step inside this ice cream emporium.
-photos by Michelle Volansky
This article appears in June 2015.