As a Wisconsin girl, I am used to having a constant stream of dairy at my fingertips. More specifically, as an UMN student and ice cream fanatic, ice cream is my go-to, my reward after a long shift at work, my break from homework, my celebration with friends and family, and my ultimate favorite food.
Going to school right next to Wisconsin, I didn't expect there to be much of a change of access to my much needed ice cream, and initially, there wasn't. But when Yogurt Lab and Dairy Queen shut down unexpectedly within a few weeks of each other, I was devastated.
For us ice cream enthusiasts–which shouldn't be uncommon here in the Midwest–we need a fast ice cream/frozen dessert place on campus to satisfy our cravings.
The Story
Just a few weeks before Thanksgiving, the Yogurt Lab near Superblock shut down suddenly. My friends and I were going to treat ourselves after a long day of classes and homework, but when we arrived there that night, the lights were off and it was closed. Looking closer, we found it was closed for good and was being replaced by another restaurant.
After that night was ruined, and my favorite dessert place on campus gone, I realized that I had to resort to Dairy Queen to get my ice cream fix from then on, which I continued to do. It wasn't the same, with the greasy smell that overwhelms you when you walk in (to be expected with fast food places). But eventually even those two weeks of Blizzards were taken away too, because DQ was being replaced by Afro Deli.
Feeling out of options, I did the (ice cream) math. Yes, for me, there is such a thing as ice cream math. There is McDonald's, where you can get McFlurry's and ice cream cones, but I try not to frequent fast food places.
There is also Insomnia Cookies, but their ice cream selection is limited. Finally, there's Annie's, but you have to sit down and order and take time if you want to get a malt.
While these places did offer ice cream, it just isn't the perfect little ice cream place I'm looking for.
While we still have some options, but they're nowhere near ideal. After all, Yogurt Lab was the perfect one stop place to satisfy cravings. The U needs a new frozen dessert place that delivers on all of these qualities to replace what was taken away.
Us ice cream enthusiasts and others need a place where we can create great memories with dessert, a place that we go to for all different kinds of reasons. You can't have a big Midwestern university without at least one great one stop ice cream shop.