On a warm Atlanta afternoon, Decatur ice cream shop Butter & Cream is piling homemade cones high with small-batch concoctions such as the “OG Goodness” featuring brown sugar ice cream with pieces of gooey butter cake. In Summerhill and Virginia-Highland, Big Softie is creating classic, creamy soft-serve ice cream in modern flavors like Matcha and Thai Tea.
Metro Atlanta’s ice cream scene offers everything from breakfast cereal sundaes to limited batches dreamed up by customers. These businesses are more than just places to get a scoop. They’re culinary gems, pushing the limits of what is possible in the world of frozen desserts.
Here are eight ice cream shops across the metro worth visiting this summer and beyond.
1. Butter & Cream
Dreamed up by Decatur resident Stacy Gunther, Butter & Cream is celebrating 11 years of adventurous flavors and classics with a twist. Favorites from their 2014 debut year will hit the freezer this July for the Anniversary Celebration Collection, including Cherry Pie, Salted Butterscotch and Anniversary Mint (peppermint ice cream with chocolate chip cookies, brownies, chocolate sandwich cookies and dark chocolate chips).
The shop’s current bestsellers include Cookie Monster (vanilla ice cream colored with butterfly pea flower, chocolate chip cookie pieces and a chocolate chip cookie butter swirl), Peach Sorbet, and Tahitian Vanilla, one of the rotating single-origin vanillas.
Besides its original location in Decatur, Butter & Cream has locations in Roswell and Norcross and plans for a future location in Duluth.
Multiple locations, butterandcream.com
Credit: Courtesy of Big Softi
Credit: Courtesy of Big Softi
2. Big Softie
An exclusively soft-serve shop, Big Softie is the dream of Sarah O’Brien, who spent a childhood in rural Ohio delighting in Dairy Queen. She called DQ’s cones the “perfect after-school treat.”
O’Brien decided to open a soft-serve shop “with the same spirit, integrity and local ingredients” that brought success to her bakery, Little Tart. Featuring all organic dairy and sugar, Big Softie makes classic vanilla, chocolate and swirl, plus nondairy options such as vegan oat vanilla and mango sorbet. Complements to the ice cream, such as confections, toppings and hard shells, are also made in-house.
Fans will be glad to know a third Big Softie location is coming to the Beltline in Old Fourth Ward in August.
66 Georgia Ave. SE, Atlanta and 632 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta, bigsoftieatl.com
Credit: Shaleen Munsell
Credit: Shaleen Munsell
3. Rock Salt Milk Bar
Mother-son duo Cynthia and Grayson Hendricks opened Rock Salt Milk Bar in 2019 after taking a cross-country road trip to learn about ice cream. They stopped at nearly 200 shops — from Salt & Straw in San Diego to Scoop DeVille in Philadelphia to famed Leopold’s in Savannah.
Flavors at Rock Salt Milk Bar range from the signature Brittle & Salt — pecan brittle in sea salt ice cream — to Fresh Peach that uses fruit from local Gregg Farms. Everything is made in-house, including cones made with non-GMO flour. “We’re always tweaking our recipes to ensure they have the best taste and consistency without fillers, artificial colors or flavors,” Hendricks said.
Stop by July 22-27 when Rock Salt Milk Bar unveils its winter flavors for a limited “Christmas” menu.
8 E. Washington St., Newnan, 770-683-3578 and 107 Lexington Circle, Peachtree City, 678-586-5046. rocksaltmilkbar.com
Credit: Martavis Johnson
Credit: Martavis Johnson
4. Scoops @ Peachtree
Nirav Bodiwala and Biren Bharucha left the corporate world in 2022 to open a Pak Mail in downtown Atlanta and pondered what else they could do with the building’s generous space. They liked the idea of a sweet “conversation opportunity” for customers who walked in to ship a package, so they opened Scoops @ Peachtree in May.
The shop serves 14 flavors, many distinctly Southern, including Georgia Peach Cobbler, Red Velvet and Banana Pudding. All are made by their partnering local ice cream company, Southern Scoops of Atlanta.
“We’re passionate about creating a space where locals and visitors alike can pause, connect and indulge in something sweet,” Bodiwala said.
300 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. scoopsatpeachtree.com
Credit: ourtesy of Juke N Jive
Credit: ourtesy of Juke N Jive
5. Juke N Jive Creamery
In 2017, Debi Yorke turned her passion for making ice cream for fellow church parishioners into a money-making business with her husband, Russ. Juke N Jive Creamery started in Braselton, but the Yorkes have since added a North Georgia location in Hoschton, as well as one in Cumming.
The Yorkes pride themselves on 1950s-style decor — including a jukebox at the Cumming shop — but the ice cream is more modern, with flavors such as Brown Butter Bourbon Butterscotch, Dubai Bar (featuring Dubai chocolate) and their bestselling Lavender Honey. Coming soon is a Blueberry Goat Cheese flavor, according to Debi Yorke. “I try to stay creative,” she said. The shops also carry dairy-free options, homemade cones and flavored ice.
441 Vision Drive, Cumming. 762-425-4891, jukenjivecreamery.com
Credit: Jillian Melko
Credit: Jillian Melko
6. Frozen Cow Creamery
At Frozen Cow Creamery, customers can watch their dessert come to life immediately after ordering it, starting with a sweet cream base and followed by preferred flavors, toss-ins and toppings. “It goes from liquid to a frozen masterpiece in minutes, right before your eyes,” said Cassandra DeLuca, who runs the shop with her parents, Ted and Angel Melko.
More than 5,000 combinations are possible, including vegan and sugar-free options with coconut milk. In addition to “cow classics” — Strawberry Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Banana Pudding, Triple Berry and others — the shop now offers Boba, a customer request which has become “quite a hit,” according to DeLuca. “We are always trying to add new things to our menu to cater to our customers,” she said.
2870 Cherokee St. NW, Kennesaw. 678-324-7459, frozenbluecow.com
Credit: Tayler Walker
Credit: Tayler Walker
7. Cereal and Cream
The nostalgia of Saturday cartoons meets the nostalgia of ice cream at Cereal and Cream, a unique spot specializing in build-your-own sundaes. Started in 2020 as a dessert truck by owner Tayler Walker, Cereal and Cream debuted at its brick-and-mortar location in Grant Park in 2022.
Each dessert begins with one of four ice cream flavors — chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or vegan vanilla — swirled with the customer’s choice of cereal and finished with candy or add-ins like brownie bites and cookie dough. Popular combinations include the East Atlanta (ice cream, Oreos, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Frosted Rice Krispies and Captain Crunch) and The Downtown (ice cream, Frosted Flakes, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and French Toast Crunch with caramel on top).
415 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta. 833-885-4247,cerealncream.com
8. Jake’s Ice Cream
At Jake’s Ice Cream in Hapeville, young customers play a key role in the menu. Long-standing favorites such as Max’s Magic Kisses (blue ice cream with white chocolate chips) and Summer Never Ends (sweet cream ice cream with strawberries, whipped cream and homemade shortcake) “came from the minds and hearts of children,” according to shop manager Shea Daniels.
More than 200 flavors rotate based on requests, and customers are encouraged to suggest new recipes. Inventive flavors take shape during birthday parties and other events, when children have the opportunity to not only develop an idea but help make the ice cream. The shop shares a building with the Cooking Schools Atlanta, allowing space for special occasions orchestrated by Daniels. “It’s her superpower,” said owner Jake Rothschild.
755 Virginia Ave., Hapeville. 678-705-7945, jakesicecream.com
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