This local, family-owned business is set to debut a new flavor and a new trailer truck
By RORY CONLON — city@theaggie.org
Davis Creamery, an ice cream and dessert shop located on 113 E St., has been a part of the Davis community for nearly 14 years. The Creamery was originally owned by David Robert, who opened the shop in its downtown location in 2011. In 2016, Robert sold the Davis Creamery to its current owners, Joe and Jen Schmidt, who had the vision of turning it into a family business.
“Both of us grew up in family businesses,” Joe Schmidt said. “I grew up on a farm and Jen’s father was in the book binding business. We took a lot away from growing up in family businesses, and so we decided to start one ourselves.”
Joe Schmidt said what sets Davis Creamery apart from other dessert shops is that they make the ice cream themselves.
“Our location is small and probably a third of it is the kitchen in the back, where we actually make our ice cream,” Joe Schmidt said. “We make it in very small batches. Four gallons of ice cream are made per batch.”
Davis Creamery offers a rotating selection of six to eight ice cream flavors. Jen Schmidt said that customers have two clear favorites.
“Right now, I would say that Brigadeiro and Coffee Oreo are our most popular flavors that we have out,” Jen Schmidt said. “Those two stand out to me.”
Another thing that sets Davis Creamery apart from its competitors is the Bracketology tournament they hold each spring. Through the Bracketology tournament, customers vote for new flavors and whichever one wins stays on the menu year-round.
During the first stage of Bracketology, which usually begins in February, customers fill out slips describing their ideas for new ice cream flavors. Jen Schmidt said she then sorts through these submissions with her family.
“There’s hundreds of submissions,” Jen Schmidt said. “I think, this year, we had 400 and then we narrowed it down to 16.”
From there, those 16 flavors are put into different brackets. Customers are invited to come taste the new flavors at the Creamery and vote for their favorite flavor to advance to the next round of the tournament.
Makena Wahl, the Schmidts’ daughter, manages Davis Creamery and runs the Bracketology competition. She said she makes each new ice cream flavor through a process of trial and error.
“I’ll come up with a recipe, just off the top of my head, that I think will work,” Wahl said. “I’ll mix it up a bit, and then it’s all just tasting it.”
After having her employees taste the ice cream, she makes adjustments.
“Eight out of 10 times, it needs a little more of this or a little more of that,” Wahl said. “This year, when I was making the Cucumber Lime Sorbet, I thought I was going to nail it on the first try, but I ended up having to double the lime.”
Right now, customers are voting on whether Dutch Stroopwafel and Lavender Toasted Sesame will make it to the next round. The Creamery will announce a new flavor on its menu when the Bracketology tournament ends in May.
In addition to introducing new flavors, Bracketology gives the Creamery a chance to market its brand and engage with its customer base. Jen Schmidt said a big portion of that customer base is made up of UC Davis students.
“As soon as the college kids leave, we drop about 30% [in sales],” Jen Schmidt said. “Our busiest times are spring and fall. We’re unusual for an ice cream store, where summer is not our busiest month. We’re lucky that we have university students to support our business year-round, not just in the summer.”
Joe Schmidt said that Wahl plans to expand Davis Creamery’s business even further.
“[Wahl] is taking our ice cream on the road,” Schmidt said. “She’s recently purchased a trailer that we’re going to [use to] customize the Davis Creamery’s offering. It’s going to be a separate business, but it’s an extension of Davis Creamery.”
Wahl estimates that she will get the trailer up and running by early fall. She said she wants to bring Davis Creamery’s ice cream to the UC Davis campus in the future.
“I love doing business with the university,” Wahl said. “Hopefully, there will be more opportunities for me to get on campus for things like Welcome Week, graduation festivities, stuff like that.”
Wahl, who has worked at the Davis Creamery for eight years now, said that when her parents first purchased the store, they never expected it to become as successful as it has been. She said she appreciates the students who have supported the Creamery over the years.
“I think it’s very amazing how big our business has become for students,” Wahl said. “I love the involvement of not only the Davis community, but also all these new people that are joining our community with a common interest and love for the Creamery.”
Written By: Rory Conlon — city@theaggie.org
