Unique Iowa Ice Cream Shop Has Flavors You’ve Never Heard Of

Over in Des Moines, Iowa is a little ice cream shop with some BIG flavors. Black Cat Ice Cream first opened back in 2016 at the Gas Lamp and moved into their current location at 2511 Cottage Grove Ave in the summer of 2021. The inspiration behind the business' name is a fat black cat named Boo Bear! The website reads:

"Boo Bear spent most of his life on the streets before we adopted him, and that type of upbringing made him a certified gangster. We found the only thing that could melt his tough exterior was ice cream. We believe ice cream has the power to do that for everyone."

Even though Boo Bear passed away years ago, his memory lives on through Black Cat Ice Cream. The shop even has a Black Cat Wall of Fame where customers can submit photos of their own feline friends!

Black Cat Ice Cream is known for its unique ice cream flavors, ones that you'll most likely never find in the frozen aisle in the grocery store. Some of the more unusual ones they've served this year include Roasted Turkey & Stuffing, Honey Cornbread, Bourbon Bananas Foster, Blueberry Pancake, Dill Pickle, Chili & Cinnamon Roll, Biscuits & Jam, Sweet Corn & Raspberry, X-Mas Leftovers, and Killer Bee, which is honey ice cream with burnt sugar pieces and spicy habanero. In fact, Killer Bee won Flavor of the Year - Midwest Region at the North American Ice Cream Association’s annual conference back in November!

Black Cat is beginning to roll out their 2022 Christmas flavors, and the latest was inspired by the movie Elf. Buddy the Elf is made up of maple ice cream, M&M’s, marshmallows, chocolate Pop Tarts, chocolate syrup, and chocolate spaghetti. I'm just thankful it's not ACTUAL spaghetti!

Black Cat Ice Cream is open Tuesday through Sunday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., with extended hours in the summertime. The flavors change often, so be sure to follow the shop on Facebook HERE to keep up with the latest information!