Summer Treats: Pop-Up Ice Cream Parlour

My older daughter was the first to see it. We had just finished lunch at The Raleigh Times in downtown Raleigh a few weeks ago when she pointed to a storefront across the street from our parking space and said "What's that?" Her questions was immediately followed by requests for ice cream, pretty, pretty please!? 

I didn't give in that day. We went back the next.

What it is is the Pop-Up Ice Cream Parlour, a summer business which opened on Wilmington Street in June. The parlour will be there through the end of August as the owner tests her concept and interest downtown. The space, a few blocks from Marbles Kids Museum and the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, will be leased by another business starting in September. 

I ran into owner Laura Suther (a Go Ask Mom reader I was thrilled to learn) when we returned for our visit.

"Pop-Up Ice Cream came about because there is a need for local ice cream in downtown Raleigh," Suther tells me. "We noticed downtown Durham has a great creamery as does Chapel Hill. Downtown Raleigh has been calling for one for a while! [There are] many restaurants, but not a place for a sweet treat afterward."

The ice cream comes from all local farms, including Maple View Farm. But Suther would like to get to Penn State University early next year to attend ice cream school so she can make her own. She hopes that the shop eventually opens up in a permanent space downtown.

Right now, the menu is simple: Cups, cones, floats, sundaes and the classic banana split. My girls and I enjoyed cones in the low-key, but fun setting. We'll be back for more! I can't wait to see how it develops.