By RICHARD PARKER / Community Columnist

Although Bruster’s Ice Cream boasts slightly more than 200 units nationally, the only one you will find in Shelby County is located just behind the Winn-Dixie shopping center on Caldwell Mill Road at the Valleydale Road intersection.

If you haven’t searched it out yet, or if you’ve driven by it for the 10 years it has been there without ever stopping, you’ve missed out on a real treat!

A fellow named Bruce Reed founded Bruster’s in a place called Bridgewater, Penn., in 1989. He had a background in the restaurant industry and had worked for years to perfect his ice cream recipe before opening his doors to offer it and other amazing desserts to local customers while providing the friendliest customer service he could manage. It all paid off.

Linda and Scott Parker, owners of the Vestavia Hills store since 1995, took over the Caldwell Mill store in March of this year. Jessica Eanes, store manager at the Vestavia store for seven years moved to the Caldwell Mill store to manage it. She is committed to outstanding customer service and has trained a whole new staff chosen from Oak Mountain and Spain Park locals to provide familiar and friendly faces to customers.

Bruster’s has 140 flavors in the recipe book, 24 of which are made fresh daily in the store along with several more that rotate in and out. They also make waffle cones and bowls, ice cream cakes and pies.

I asked Jessica what the best sellers are. She didn’t hesitate. “White Turtle, Oreo and Graham Central Station we have to make every day!” she said.

White Turtle is blessed with caramel and pecans, while Graham Central Station has graham cracker ripples with chocolate flakes. I stopped in one day last summer and walked away with a black raspberry cone that blew me away.

“That’s a seasonal flavor. We just make it in the summer,” she said. “But we have the White Raspberry Truffle that has vanilla ice cream with a raspberry swirl and chocolate flakes in it.”

“That will work,” I said. Mmmm. Oh my! Amazing!

 

Richard Parker can be reached by email at rbp1941@gmail.com.