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We already have plenty of reasons to be excited about summer 2021—like, you know, getting to leave our houses—but here are three more of the cold-sugary-creamy variety. A trio of new ice cream shops will be scooping our favorite treats, including a Wizard of Oz–themed soft servery in Larimer Square, a pandemic-born pint-delivery-turned-pick-up-window operation in RiNo, and a creative gelateria in Lowry. Here’s where to get the freshest scoops, cones, sundaes, sandwiches, and splits in the Mile High City.
The only thing better than how Right Cream’s super-premium flavors are named—think: the Reese’s Puffs cereal and peanut butter cup blondie-stuffed Other People’s Peanuts (OPP), the Cocoa Pebbles–centric Make Yo Bedrock, and the chai-ice-cream-based Bomb Bae—is how those flavors taste. Starting in early June, you can get pints, sundaes, and other ice creamy novelties (but no scoops) at Right Cream’s brick-and-mortar in RiNo. The super-popular creamery, which started last summer with deliveries and parking lot pick-ups, graduated to its own shop, which means more cheekily named flavors (more than 60 new ones are on deck) and collabs with small-batch bakers, like Bakery Four cookies for ice cream sandwiches and Lani Bakes macarons for sundaes. 3047 Larimer St.
If your childhood, Gucci Mane, and soft-serve ice cream were to open a shop together in Larimer Square, it would be Hidden Gems ice cream. The ice cream parlor, which operates to the soundtrack of trap music (a subgenre of hip hop) blends sweet, sweet nostalgia in the form of vanilla (and vegan vanilla) mixed with Saturday morning cereals like Froot Loops, Peanut Butter Cap’N Crunch, and Apple Jacks. “We are a Wizard of Oz–themed blended ice cream bar, with flavors ranging from Oreo to Lucky Charms to Animal Crackers to Cheez-Its, and everything in between,” says owner Josh Schmitz. The ice cream parlor opened in April. 1411 Larimer St.
I Scream Gelato started scooping in Breckenridge in summer 2019, and the reaction to their scratch-made gelato, bubble waffle cones, affogato, and smoothies was so positive that they opened a second location, in Frisco, earlier this year. As of early July, Denverites (or more specifically, Lowry-ites) can taste the coconut, pistachio, cheesecake, and the rest of I Scream’s case-full of gelatos a little closer to home. 63 Quebec St.
