There’s a new kind of ice cream on West University Avenue.
This weekend, UF students and Gainesville residents headed to Mr. Cool Ice Cream, a Thai- style ice cream shop that opened Thursday at 1025 W. University Ave.
Instead of scoops or softserve, servers scrape flattened ice cream into rolls before adding whatever toppings and sauces the customer requests. Customers can select pre-made options, which start at $5.59 before tax, or choose their own ice cream roll flavor and toppings.
Dong “Sam” Zheng, the store’s co-owner, said he decided to bring the idea to Gainesville after seeing similar, successful ice cream roll shops in both Thailand and New York City.
He opened up shop in the space left vacant after Karma Cream’s relocation.
The 29-year-old estimated that after opening Thursday and promoting a buy one, get one free deal over the weekend, employees had served more than 1,000 customers as of Sunday.
“Ice cream is not only for eat- ing, it’s for playing,” said Zheng, a UF electrical engineering doctoral student. “I opened this for fun, so people can come and enjoy.”
Alton Wong, 19, visited the ice cream shop two days in a row this weekend. On both visits, he bought coffee-flavored ice cream rolls with Oreos and strawberries.
“I like this just for the novelty of it,” the UF finance sophomore said. “It’s just a different way to make the ice cream.”
MR. COOL ICE CREAM STAFF FAVORITES
- “Strawberry Lady”: Strawberry ice cream and Guana (vanilla type) cracker topping
- “Monkey Business”: Banana ice cream and Nutella topping
- “Oreo’s Secret”: Vanilla ice cream and Oreo topping
- “S’mores Galore”: Graham cracker ice cream and Chocolate topping
Contact Molly Vossler at mvossler@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @molly_vossler
Mr. Cool Ice Cream employees serve rolled ice cream to customers at its Grand Opening event on Thursday. The line was out the door on Saturday evening.
