1. If you buy a candy bar or piece of fruit, employees will gladly incorporate it into your milkshake.
The Creamery knows the pain of being torn between a Reese’s Cup and a chocolate marshmallow milkshake, which is why if you buy a Reese’s, or any other candy bar for that matter, you can have it thrown right in with your milkshake. Strawberry and banana shakes, Tin Roof Sundae and Snickers shakes, WPSU Coffee Break and M&M’s shakes… The possibilities are endless.
Photo by Jenna Rosen
2. It doesn’t advertise.
A true testament to its ice cream’s unparalleled quality is the fact that the Creamery refuses to promote itself in any form of media. When you first learned about Penn State’s pride and joy, it was by word of mouth. For those folks unfortunate enough to live outside of Happy Valley, words like “death shake” (yes, employees actually call Death by Chocolate milkshakes that) and Peachy Paterno are never to be seen on TV or the Internet. Satisfied customers do all the eating and all the talking.
3. Its employees will pack ice cream in dry ice for you when you travel.
Don’t know what you’re going to do over break when you can’t get your daily dose of Alumni Swirl or Goo Goo Cluster? Before you break out in a cold sweat or do something drastic, let me share some good news: the Creamery sells travel bags. They will package gallons of ice cream for you in dry ice to ensure that your delicacies stay frozen no matter how long you’re on the road. I’ll say from experience that the process works great!
Photo by Jenna Rosen
4. Its famously generous serving sizes aren’t in the employee handbook.
Everyone knows the triumph of conquering a Creamery-sized cone, but many don’t know that managers actually discourage the overwhelming portion sizes that scoopers tend to dish out for their customers. Serving scoops of ice cream as large as your head isn’t actually a law on campus. Still, employees understand the importance of the tradition and tend to dig deep into the ice cream tubs (and their hearts) when they scoop.
5. It allows the mixing of flavors if and only if you order a milkshake.
This last one is a kicker since it’s probably the most important unknown truth about good ole’ Berkey. Can’t decide between Keeny Beany Chocolate and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough? If you order a milkshake, you don’t have to.