Enjoying a frosty ice cream cone under the summer sun is one of the classic delights we can enjoy during this not-so-normal summer. For the past decade, Purple Door Ice Cream has churned out signature flavors like salted caramel, whiskey or cinnamon, in addition to classics like vanilla and chocolate. Last month they rolled out a line of new summer ice cream flavors, with one to be introduced each week through Labor Day.
Lauren Schultz, who co-owns Purple Door with her husband, Steve, said their flagship scoop shop in Walker’s Point (205 S. 2 St.), as well as their additional locations at Sherman Phoenix (3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave.) and Mequon Public Market (6300 W. Mequon Rd., Mequon), have all reopened for takeout orders after city and county Safer At Home restrictions were lifted. Social distancing measures are in place. The pandemic forced them to change their catering model; they stopped scooping ice cream on-site and now offer prepackaged ice cream sandwiches and ice cream cups.
Their new Lemon Meringue Pie flavor is a combination of light, creamy lemon-flavored ice cream with lemon curd swirls and pieces of house-made graham cracker crust twirled in. The flavor was suggested by the Schultz’s 8-year-old neighbor. Blackberry Cornbread was inspired by a trip to Nashville. “While there, we had a blackberry ice cream and cornbread dessert, so we decided to put it all together in an ice cream,” Schultz says.
Also coming is Fireball, a cinnamon ice cream infused with Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey. The Italian Cookie flavor is the Schultz’s take on the almond flavored delicacies found at Italian bakeries. The almond flavored ice cream has pistachio and cherries mixed in. The Mint Lemonade Sorbet is a refreshing non-dairy blend with fresh lemon juice and mint.
State Fair Cream Puff
This season’s Wisconsin State Fair is one of the latest casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic. This August, look for Purple Door’s State Fair Cream Puff flavor to be released when the Fair would normally take place. The flavor was developed during winter, before pandemic cancellations were announced, but Schultz notes that because of that, the State Fair Cream Puff flavor will be even more relevant.
Vegans and those with dairy restrictions can look forward to non-dairy, coconut-based ice cream flavors like Chocolate Peanut Butter, Piña Colada, Strawberry Nutella and Caramel Brownie Raspberry, the latter two suggested by the Schultz’s 8-and 9-year old sons.
As Purple Door heads into a ninth full season of making ice cream, Schultz says they have become better at figuring out what works well in ice cream. They try to source locally as often as possible. “If Rishi tea has a special tea coming out, or if Anodyne coffee has a special coffee blend, we think of a flavor can we create with that,” Schultz says.
Ice Cream a Long-Time Dream
Schultz’s love of ice cream goes back to her childhood. She had always looked forward to the rare times when her family went out for ice cream. During college, she made ice cream in her kitchen. While on her first date with Steve, she told him that someday, she wanted to open an ice cream shop. “He held me to that!” she laughs.
The Schultz’s started Purple Door as a wholesale company in rented kitchen space at Skyline Catering, in Cudahy. While working as educators, they made ice cream on nights and weekends, selling it at farmers markets, to restaurants and through Outpost Natural Foods. Schultz took a business plan writing course through Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC), who helped her develop a business plan. With their first small business loan, they purchased an ice cream machine, a freezer, a hardening cabinet and start up ingredients.
Purple Door’s Milk for Milwaukee initiative regularly delivers fresh milk to four homeless shelters in Milwaukee. “We love what we do, and we want to be involved in the community,” Schultz says. “We want to be a positive force in Milwaukee.”
For more information, visit purpledooricecream.com.
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