Faces of Duluth tells the stories of the people behind Duluth’s iconic attractions, hidden gems and everything in between. Traveling to Duluth? Learn the locals’ tips and tricks for seeing all the city has to offer.
Who doesn’t love ice cream on a hot summer day? Or, for the hardy enthusiasts, any time of year! Nicole Wilde founded Love Creamery with the goal of mixing her passions for nature and bringing people joy into each scoop. Ten years later, she’s still doing just that! With each uniquely curated flavor, Love Creamery’s ice cream brings something special to the Duluth community – for locals and tourists alike.
What’s your Duluth story?
I’m a Milwaukee-born Midwesterner who wanted to learn to fly planes and eventually landed in Duluth because of Cirrus Aircraft. As a nature lover and small city person, I found Duluth to be a hidden gem. The lake, the people and even the Duluth “fashion” is definitely unique. I have lived a number of places east to west coast and even briefly overseas, but found home when I landed in Duluth 16 years ago.
What’s the inspiration behind Love Creamery? What sets Love Creamery apart from other ice cream shops?
I have a love for nature and strong interest and background in hobby farming/gardening. As a kid, I could always be found in the forest discovering plants and animals. Over the years, and likely inspired by my master gardener mom, I started gardening. I went on to study environmental studies in college and later worked with the Sustainable Farming Association and volunteered at Michael Fields Agricultural Institute while attending grad school. Knowing I wanted to start my own business one day, I searched for something that would allow me to tap into my passions while bringing joy to people. Having worked with ice cream as a teenager, I figured this could be a good medium. So, that seed slowly blossomed into Love Creamery. I also think innovation and leadership makes us different. For instance, it took me many years to secure a local dairy partner to not only to make our mix, but also formulate a specific mix recipe. A lot of money and time went into finding and developing this partnership and now, other ice cream companies buy our dairy’s mix as well. I think our customers know we are innovators and are really dedicated to our mission. We will go above and beyond to walk the talk and deliver.
When did you first open Love Creamery?
I started selling ice cream out of a mobile cart in 2014 and opened my first store in 2018 in Lincoln Park. The ice cream cart allowed me to test the concept and also learn if I really wanted to pursue ice cream making as a business. After three summers with the ice cream cart, I decided to move forward with a storefront and did so with a strong intention to open in a place that would serve our community. Going back to grad school days, I also worked with Milwaukee’s Main Street program. Through this experience I saw how communities were revitalizing historic main streets that had slowly become vacant in the 70s and 80s due to the growth of malls, chains and superstores. Duluth’s Lincoln Park community experienced this, and I thought being a part of its rebirth as a vibrant community commercial district was in line with Love Creamery’s mission. It has been fun to be a part of this change. I opened the second scoop shop in Canal Park the summer of 2021. The hope was to reach more travelers and be a part of another Duluth community. Each location has a different flare but similar aesthetic. Different flavors are served at each store for variety.
How do you come up with new and unique flavors?
This is the fun part. When it was only me, it usually started with a single ingredient, or some other food inspiration, and I would start creating. Today, it is still the same, but now staff and customers are involved. For example, our apiary partner may tell us about a honey variety they have, such as dandelion honey (honey made by bees that collect dandelion nectar), and we get curious. We will taste the honey and then determine if it’s a flavor that can stand on its own, or if it might be an ingredient we pair with another ingredient (say chamomile or lavender). Or maybe someone said they had the best cookie, cake or even cocktail recently – if it sounds like it might be a good flavor, we’ll deconstruct it into an ice cream. And finally, I often take ideas from global cuisine when traveling. Not all flavors turn out and there is also food chemistry involved, so flavor development can take time.
What is a typical day like for you running your own small business?
There is no “typical” day, as every day seems to present a unique set of situations. But that said, I visit the stores early in the morning, typically fix or clean something, touch base with staff, check inventories and connect with suppliers. Then I go where I’m needed, which could be scooping, doing dishes, making ice cream, making deliveries, paying bills, conducting research, test batching or just chatting with customers. My team makes my job pretty easy, but the day-to-day unplanned happenings make each day unpredictable.
Both locations of Love Creamery are such fun spots for tourists and locals alike. What do you hope guests feel and experience when they visit?
Thank you for saying so. We agree and it is intentional. An experience is definitely something we work hard to curate for our customers – whether local or visiting. I believe our staff members are key to this, and I also believe that the staff comes first, even before customers. We want to ensure our customers not only enjoy the ice cream treat they decide to purchase, but that they feel they have been treated with care and that their decision to choose our ice cream really matters to us. That can only happen if our staff feel valued. So, a great deal of care goes into bringing in kind, happy and optimistic people and then training and supporting them. Additionally, a lot of thought and time has gone into selecting our locations, designing our interiors and maintaining our spaces. From hiring local artists to create unique murals, to selecting sustainable materials and investing in equipment, it all matters and is part of the experience.
What is your favorite and/or go-to ice cream flavor?
I always love this question. First, I would be remiss in not saying any flavor with cream from our dairy partner, Autumnwood Farm in Forest Lake, MN – it will just be good from the milk and cream from their well-loved herd. That said, mint chocolate chip has always been my core go-to flavor since I was a kid, and still is when I travel. I have lot of other favorites and it changes with the seasons. I love anything with salt (i.e. Salted Honey, Salted Maple) and right now I am big into our citrusy flavors such as anything with lemon or lime curd rippled in. Seasonal flavors are also on my list. Every year we hold a community rhubarb exchange and then turn rhubarb into jam for flavors like rhubarb crisp and sorbet. Blueberries from Sweetland Farms, honey berries from Farm Lola, and raspberries from Northwind Organic Farm are in or are coming into season, so you can bet flavors with these local berries will be out for late July and August. And we have a number of vegan flavors that are comparable to our dairy flavors in taste and texture.
What are some of your favorite things to do in Duluth with guests from out of town?
There is really a lot to do, and depending on who is visiting, here is my list:
Folks should visit Canal Park of course, but then continue on to one of Duluth’s other communities. Lincoln Park has food, stores, art, music, breweries and cideries all in a pretty compact, walkable area. West Duluth also has some really fun spots including the amazing Zenith Bookstore, Wussow’s Concert Café and fun Jade Fountain Cocktail Lounge – all are good stops after biking, riding the coaster or skiing at Spirit Mountain.
Walking or hiking is always a good option – and it’s free. Duluth has so many unique and beautiful trails and depending on the group’s walking abilities, there really is something for everyone.
Mountain biking, kayaking and paddleboarding are all other great options to get out and experience Duluth’s urban nature vibe. Duluth has fantastic mountain biking trails and there are so many different opportunities to experience Lake Superior. For one, you can jump on the cold plunge/sauna trend at Pier B Resort with a guided sauna experience from Cedar + Stone Nordic Sauna. So fun!
Duluth also has an abundance of talented artists. Visiting galleries, dropping into the Duluth Art Institute or hitting the Tweed Museum at University of Minnesota Duluth all provide ways to check out the art scene and maybe take home something to add to your collection.
People can charter a boat to fish, go sailing, golf one of the public courses, take a ride on the North Shore Scenic Railroad or attend one of the many festivals and concerts held all summer long throughout the city.