This summer, south Minneapolis is seeing a surge of new ice cream options with the arrival of Sebastian Joe’s and Little Bird Gelato.
Sebastian Joe’s Kingfield Social:
Responding to a heartfelt request from local children, Sebastian Joe’s has opened a new location in the Kingfield neighborhood. The shop, called Sebastian Joe’s Kingfield Social, officially opens on June 13. Prior to the opening, neighborhood kids were treated to an all-you-can-eat ice cream event and had their request letter framed and displayed in the shop.
This new location will feature Sebastian Joe’s new soft serve creation, Scoop ‘N Swirl, allowing customers to mix soft serve with real fruit, candy, or cookie and cake mix-ins. It will also offer classic Sebastian Joe’s ice cream flavors, along with coffee, tea, and cookies.
Little Bird Gelato:
Allison and Steve McMullen, chef de cuisine at Porzana, have launched Little Bird Gelato at Café Ceres’ Armatage location at Penn and 54th in south Minneapolis. The couple focuses on making scratch gelato with locally sourced products, offering traditional and innovative Italian gelato flavors. The gelato selection includes pistachio, coconut stracciatella, chocolate hazelnut, ricotta, and lavender honey, with dairy-free and sorbet options also available.
Little Bird Gelato is also available at Café Ceres’ Linden Hills location and other restaurants in Daniel Del Prado’s portfolio, including Colita and Cardamom, which serves a pistachio affogato. The McMullens plan to expand to more restaurants and host pop-up events.
Purple Scoop Ice Cream:
Rustica is introducing fresh ice cream options this summer. James Beard-nominated pastry chef Shawn McKenzie, co-founder of Café Ceres and executive pastry chef at Rustica, is launching Purple Scoop Ice Cream. The new line will start with a salted butter ice cream served with Rustica’s desserts and affogatos. While the official launch date is yet to be announced, it is expected to debut later this month.
With these new additions, Minneapolis residents have plenty of reasons to indulge in delightful frozen treats this summer.