We all scream for local ice cream

From tasty treats to petting zoos, take an inside look at ice cream parlors in the Holt area

Grace LaubenthaL COPY EDITOR

Long days. Blazing heat. No school.

After a long day out in the sun, the thing people want most is ice cream. It isn’t a difficult decision to seek out a sweet conclusion to a summer day. The choice that proves to be harder to make, however, is where to get that ice cream from.

The Holt and Lansing areas have many options when it comes to ice cream. From shops right in our backyard to those a bit of a drive away, there are plentiful choices, and everyone is sure to be satisfied by at least one of the locations.

Sweet Sensations and Dairy Dan are the two most popular ice cream shops in town, and that popularity has led to a split when it comes to student preferences.

Each shop has its own charms, but one reason students who support Dairy Dan more is because of the longer season. Dairy Dan closes for the season in late October while Sweet Sensations closes around Labor Day.

Not only is there a difference in when the shops close, but they have different opening dates as well.

Dairy Dan opened first this year, as per usual, in mid-February. Sweet Sensations, however, opened in mid-March, although their original opening date was planned to be at the beginning of April.

Another positive when it comes to Dairy Dan is that it has a drive through. It makes for a more convenient trip for people wanting a tasty treat at some point during the day.

Despite these positive qualities that Dairy Dan possesses, junior Presley Pazitka favors Sweet Sensations.

“I think my favorite ice cream shop is Sweet Sensations. They have lots of options that I love,” said Pazitka.

Pazitka also thinks that price and proximity are important factors when it comes to choosing which local ice cream shop is the best.

“I think Sweet Sensations is better than other ice cream shops because they are cheap compared to Dairy Dan. Sweet Sensations is also closer to my house and I think more people like it because it’s closer to town,” said Pazitka.

There are other shops in the area that don’t get as much attention, that portions of the student body love.

WHAT IS THE BEST ICE CREAM SHOP IN HOLT?

Senior Autumn Rockafellow works at Village Ice Cream and Cafe (Village), located in Dimondale. This shop is only a short ten minute drive from the high school and has plenty of things to bring to the table.

“The ice cream shop is a small one in Dimondale that offers pretty much any ice cream you could imagine, as well as a decently expansive food menu,” said Rockafellow.

Not only does Village have many options, but the shop brings things to the table that other shops do not. Rockafellow says that there is something different about the shop as opposed to others.

“The thing that is different about it is the quality of the ice cream. Both the soft serve and hand-dipped ice cream are really high quality. The hand-dipped ice cream there is better than that of others offered in the area.”

This is not the only thing that sets Village apart from the rest of the local ice cream shops.

“It has an indoor seating area where you can order, watch your ice cream or food be made, and then eat inside,” said Rockafellow.

Because of all of these qualities that the shop possesses, Rockafellow thinks the shop is a top contender for the best local ice cream shop.

“I think that it is better than the competitors in the area. Given that it has indoor seating, it offers a certain atmosphere that you can’t get at the other places. Also, there is a full food menu which is not the case at the other places. I do believe that it is the best option in the area on the basis of the menu, quality, and service.”

With all of these factors working in Village’s favor, it isn’t difficult to see why many students enjoy the shop.

Sophomore Jaime Eddington is a supporter of Village and says it is her favorite local ice cream shop.

“It’s close to my house, there’s always nice people working there, and it’s just in a nice area. I like it better than other shops because it’s more convenient for me personally,” said Eddington.

Village has plenty of support from Holt students, but it isn’t the only other ice cream shop nearby that students love.

MOO-ville Creamery, which has its nearest establishment located in Eaton Rapids, is a family owned and operated ice cream parlor. MOO-ville bottles their own milk and makes their own ice cream, cheese, and butter.

Not only this, but MOO-ville has one distinct quality that makes it entirely different from the other shops in the area. They have a petting farm.

This creamery’s petting farm houses 40 different animals including pigs, goats, chickens, and horses. They offer two feed cones for just $1, allowing visitors to feed and interact with their animals.

Although this shop is farther away from Holt than the others, the inclusion of a petting farm seems like it would make it stand out. However, its rating on Google is the same as that of Sweet Sensations and Village, at 4.7. The only shop with a lower rating is Dairy Dan, with an incredibly close rating of 4.6.

With each location having its own collection of positive and negative qualities, it’s hard to label only one ice cream parlor as the best around town.

Even with that being the case, it’s clear that almost everyone wants ice cream, whether it comes from one place or another.