Ice Cream Social

Nerds Blizzards, Garlic Ice Cream, and Flavor Nostalgia with April Schlichting [Part 1]

#22

Today at 12:01 PM

Takeaways

Familiar flavors carry built-in nostalgia, and one bite of a childhood favorite can bring back a whole food memory.The right flavor depends on the crowd: visitors passing through tend to buy traditional flavors, while festival crowds go looking for bold ones.You can protect your core flavors and still push the edges, especially at events where customers show up hoping for something wild.Serving a strange flavor in a new way, like garlic ice cream with caramel potato chips, can turn it into a sell-out.

Summary of the Episode

In this episode of...

How Curd Fest Started: A Dairy Princess, a Dirt Road and a Cow That Unplugged a Freezer

#21

11/04/2026

Takeaways

Be honest with people who want to start a food business: Alise tells visiting cheesemakers what could go wrong so they begin with open eyes.Learning small skills like plumbing and electrical work can save money and make a business owner feel empowered when cash flow is tight.Make what you like, because if you do not like it, it is not worth your time, even when a flavor you do not love, like mint chip, matters to your customers.Mistakes can become stories: a habanero mix-up produced about 12 gallons of very hot ice cream that was...

Spirits From Whey: How Milk Becomes a Distilled Spirit in About a Week

#20

10/28/2026

Takeaways

Make what you love, because it is easier to sell and talk about, and Alise's best-selling brie came from that.Ask specialty shop buyers what is missing before you choose a first product, which is how the farmstead cheddar started.Mixing soft cheeses that age in weeks with cheddars that age for months helps cash flow because products reach the market at different times.Whey, the byproduct of cheese, can become a distilled spirit in about a week, and it opens new ideas like boozy ice cream.

Summary of the Episode

In this episode...

Alise Sjostrom on Building a Cheese Business That Brings the Whole Community Along

#19

10/21/2026

Takeaways

Community is part of the business plan: Alise sees her marketing as bringing people along for the ride, and David says the same is true for an ice cream shop.Great cheese starts with great milk, and Alise's family has bred their cows for higher fat and protein for about 40 years, which shows up in the cheese.Not standardizing the milk means each batch is a surprise, since many of the cheeses age at least six months before the team learns how that day's milk turned out.Cheese needs four ingredients, milk, cultures, rennet and salt, and...

How to Start a Food Business on Your Family's Farm: Alise Sjostrom's Redhead Creamery Story [Part 1]

#18

10/14/2026

Takeaways

Starting a food business on family land works best when you do something different with what the farm already produces.Food marketing and storytelling matter as much as food science, because anyone can make a product but selling it is the real skill.Working for other specialty food companies first is a smart way to learn the good and the bad of an industry before launching your own brand.Using every product a farm creates, from cheese and milk to yogurt and whey spirits, reduces waste and builds new revenue streams.

Summary of the episode

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How to Handle Bunnies, Doubters, and Grumblers: Community Building Lessons From Tracy Ore

#17

10/07/2026

Takeaways

Think big and share the load. Tracy Ore wants to essentially take over the block around the St. Cloud State University Community Garden, and she is bringing in students, the tech college, and partners so the project is not just hers.If you give people what they need, the doubters lose their argument. Tracy's bunny rule: plant 100 cauliflower, then another 100, and around 300 the bunnies get full. She takes the same attitude with people.Ice cream makers and gardeners make great collaborators. Freeze-dried strawberries keep water out of ice cream, and a garden with a giant freeze-dryer, plenty...

Garden Lady: How 20 Years of Showing Up Earned a Professor a Place in Her Community with Tracy Ore

#16

09/30/2026

Takeaways

Big ideas can take years, so keep saying them out loud. Tracy Ore talked about creating a tomato unique to St. Cloud State from 2010 until a botanist arrived in 2022 and said it was easy, and now students have made more than 2,000 crosses.A garden with no fences, no fees, and no application can work. After 20 years, Tracy has seen people contribute well beyond what they take, the opposite of the tragedy of the commons.Community projects need a succession plan. Tracy is raising money to hire an executive director who can shadow her and carry the garden's...

Stay Long Enough to Name Its Problems: Community Building Lessons From a Community Garden with Tracy Ore

#15

09/23/2026

Mentioned in this show:

PBS Doc on Grace Lee Boggs: https://www.pbs.org/video/pov-american-revolutionary-meet-grace-lee-boggs/

Grace Lee Boggs children's book: https://link.amazon/B01TZGEbm

Takeaways

Real community change starts when you stay put. Tracy Ore's mentor challenged her to stay in one place long enough to name its problems with authority, and that challenge turned into a community garden that is still growing 20 years later.You do not need to know how to do something before you start. Tracy had never grown a vegetable before launching the St...

Inside Bruno Press 2.0: Why Mary Bruno Stopped Chasing What People Want

#14

09/16/2026

Takeaways

Sometimes the biggest business turning point isn't a new product, it's dropping the instinct to chase what you think people want and making what you actually like instead.A workshop full of strangers can do something a curated event can't. By the end of an hour, people are making plans together, proof that community can form fast when there's a shared, hands-on thing to do.Even the process behind the work, like mixing ink or running a steamroller over a print, can be the thing people actually want to see, not just the finished product.

In...

Mary Bruno's Ice Cream Story: A Fourth of July Tradition Bigger Than Christmas

#13

09/09/2026

Takeaways

The ice cream memories that stick aren't the fancy ones. They're the specific, slightly ordinary ones, like a hand-cranked churn on the Fourth of July, which is exactly why a business that helps create those memories wins twice.Novelty and seasonal flavors, like dill pickle, garlic, and an April Fools "Beef Stroganoff" joke, don't need to be everyday best sellers to be worth making. They give people a reason to show up and talk about the shop.A new market, like Jupiter Moon's upcoming St. Paul location, is a chance to test bolder flavors that a more...

Doritos on Ice Cream? The Six-Year-Old Flavor Memory Bruno Press Owner Mary Bruno Can't Shake

#12

09/02/2026

Takeaways

The best ice cream flavors, whether it's a six-year-old's Doritos-topped vanilla or a Ritz cracker flavor that won a national contest, usually come from a sweet and salty instinct, not a polished plan.Real community can't be built to chase an instant return. When it's authentic, it becomes an experience; when it's commercial, it's just a transaction, and that version eventually fails.A single well-hosted, well-curated visit, like the one Bruno Press owner Mary Bruno put together for a local influencer, can do more for a town's reputation than a planned marketing campaign, because people can tell...

Should Ice Cream Shops Do Samples? A Hot Take From Two Small Business Owners

#11

08/26/2026

Takeaways

David and Donella both wrestle with finding the right event size. Too big and you lose the craft and the community, too small and it is not sustainable, so the sweet spot sits somewhere in between.Jupiter Moon skipped cookie dough ice cream and Jules' Bistro skips fully organic produce for the same reason: sometimes doing it "right" is not financially viable, and both owners have made peace with that trade-off.David recently reversed a longstanding no-samples policy at Jupiter Moon after realizing it was creating friction with a ritual customers expect, and one of his two...

The Muck and the Mire: Why Small Business Owners Need Each Other

#10

08/19/2026

Takeaways

Donella's ice cream story traces back to Grandma Dorothy, who worked all year at a thrift store so she could tuck cash gifts, including a hidden $100 bill, into Christmas trinkets for every grandkid.Successful small businesses become part of people's core memories, proms, dates, engagements, weddings, and that is exactly why David and Donella keep doing this work, even on the hard days.When small business ownership starts to feel like a grind, getting back on the floor and talking to people is often the fastest way back to remembering why you started.

Summary of the...

Simple vs. Sexy: How to Actually Choose an Ice Cream Flavor

#9

08/12/2026

Takeaways

Comfort flavors like vanilla often trace back to one specific memory or family tradition, not just taste. For Donella Westphal, that memory is her Grandma Dorothy's homemade hot fudge.Adventurous flavors, like a Mexican street corn ice cream made with real corn liquid and lime cotija, can be some of the most creative work a shop does, even if only a small group of people order it.A full toppings bar, not just the ice cream itself, is often what turns dessert into a lasting memory.

Summary of the Episode

In Part 1 of this...

How to Become "Iconic" in Your Community, One Scoop at a Time

#8

08/05/2026

Takeaways

David's real motivation for Jupiter Moon isn't the ice cream itself. It's wanting the shop to be iconic and important to the St. Cloud community, which is also why he prioritizes showing up at local events.David asks every job applicant to share their own "ice cream story" during the hiring process, because he's found that almost everyone has one, and it's almost always a happy memory.Jupiter Moon studies other ice cream shops' social media for inspiration, including a Canadian shop called Elle's Cafe whose owner has built a whole memorable bit around riding a scooter...

Meet Ava Peters: The Social Media Manager Behind Jupiter Moon's Most-Viewed Posts

#7

07/29/2026

Takeaways

Jupiter Moon is exploring a whiskey and spirit infused ice cream collaboration with Redhead Creamery, the Brooten, Minnesota, creamery that distills spirits from its own cheese making whey byproduct.The shop's candy truffle ice cream traces back to Kernel's Creamery in Covington, Kentucky, whose owner personally drove his equipment and recipes up to Minnesota when he stepped away from the business.Jupiter Moon sometimes sells the exact same ice cream flavor under two different names on the menu to A/B test which one customers actually order, including a grape flavor once sold as both Purple Reign...

From an Ice Cream Bicycle to 15,000 Gallons a Month: The Origin Story of Jupiter Moon

#6

07/22/2026

Takeaways

Jupiter Moon is completely nut-free — no tree nuts, no peanuts — and David Boyer made that call partly because he has a tree nut allergy himself. The decision he didn't fully anticipate was how many families it would free up: people who couldn't walk into a Twins game, couldn't walk into most ice cream shops, now have somewhere they can go without fear.Jupiter Moon started in a rented kitchen in Sauk Rapids, selling hand-packed cups from an ice cream bicycle at art fairs. David chose the bicycle not because he needed a bike, but because it was cute...

The Accidental Gathering Point: How Two St. Joe Businesses Are Building Community on Purpose

#5

07/15/2026

Takeaways

The most intentional business decisions sometimes look accidental from the outside. Liz schedules her Friday farm tours at 1:00 PM specifically so visitors are hungry for lunch before and primed for ice cream after — she's building traffic to her neighbors on purpose."Deeper, not wider" is the customer strategy behind Sunny Mary Meadow. Liz turns flower subscribers into wedding clients, wedding clients into Bloom Room renters, and Bloom Room couples into lifelong regulars who bring their baby showers back to the farm.Building a business that matters means being willing to share the hardest parts of your story. Li...

Childhood Favorites, New Flavors, and the Ice Cream Making Process at Jupiter Moon with Liz Fiedler Mergen [Part 1]

#4

07/08/2026

Takeaways

Making ice cream at Jupiter Moon is a three-day process with three distinct steps: mixing the base, running it through the batch freezer, and hardening it in a super-cold cabinet that reaches negative 20 degrees.The difference between smooth, creamy ice cream and icy, grainy ice cream comes down to temperature: anything above negative 10 degrees during the hardening phase will cause ice crystals to form.New flavors go through a beta testing process that often starts in a two-pint test machine before committing to a full six-gallon batch, because sometimes you make a stinker and you need to...

Cheese Ice Cream, St. Paul Expansion, and the Scoop on Jupiter Moon's Big Summer [Part 3]

#3

07/01/2026

Takeaways

Jupiter Moon Ice Cream uses entirely natural ingredients for all flavors and colors in its base ice cream, including spirulina, turmeric, beet extract, and annatto, with a small-business supplier in Illinois that collaborates with the team weekly.The shop has deep roots in the local small business community, with partnerships that include Crew restaurant, Backwards Bread, Bad Habit Brewing, and Red Headed Creamery.A third Jupiter Moon location is opening in St. Paul's St. Anthony Park neighborhood at Milton Square, with a target of being open by July 4th.

In this episode of The Ice Cream...

Ice Cream Stories, Flavor Science, and Community with Alex Smith [Part 2]

#2

06/24/2026

Takeaways

Why texture matters more in ice cream than most people realizeThe science behind overrun, freezing speed, and creamy textureHow community shapes flavor creation at Jupiter Moon Ice Cream

Summary of the Episode

In Part 2 of this series, David Boyer and Alex Smith dive into the memories, science, and community connections that make ice cream special. From childhood ice cream stories to the surprisingly technical process behind creating premium ice cream, this episode explores how texture, ingredients, and local culture influence every scoop. They also discuss the origins behind Jupiter Moon favorites and why community...

Inside Jupiter Moon Ice Cream: Startup Stories, Summer Memories, and Community [Part 1]

06/17/2026

Takeaways

Why opening an ice cream business during COVID unexpectedly created opportunitiesHow first-time managers build trust while leading new teamsThe behind-the-scenes story of turning an ice cream hobby into a growing business

In Part 1 of this special three-part series, David sits down with Jupiter Moon Ice Cream St. Joe manager Alex Smith to talk about ice cream, community, entrepreneurship, and summer memories.

They discuss Alex's transition into management, favorite ice cream flavors, funny customer stories, and the surprising journey that transformed Jupiter Moon from an ice cream bicycle into a thriving local business.

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Welcome to the 'Ice Cream Social' with Jupiter Moon Ice Cream

06/01/2026

It's finally here. Ice Cream Social is officially open for business, and we're so glad you pulled up a seat.

Hosted by David Boyer, owner of Jupiter Moon Ice Cream, this podcast is all about the place where ice cream and community meet. Spoiler: it's a really good place to be.

In this short trailer, David shares what to expect from the show: conversations about what makes ice cream great, the memories wrapped up in a single scoop, the people behind the cone, and the stories that always come with a smile attached.

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