Amy Green, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, is ready to reopen her ice cream shop, Ivanna Cone, this weekend.
When Amy Green was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer last spring, doctors told her that one of the side effects to her chemotherapy might be the loss of taste.
"I almost didn't do the treatment because of that," she said.
The owner of Ivanna Cone, the ice cream shop appropriately located in the Creamery Building at 701 P St., was only half kidding.
After all, what would be the point if she couldn't taste-test her frozen concoctions — from parlor favorites like sweet-cream vanilla and Dutch chocolate to the outrageous caramelized onion cheesecake — to determine if they are worthy to be listed on the shop's chalkboard menu, which always features 15 flavors?
"I make ice cream for a living," she said. "I want to be able to taste it."
Ten months later, the good news is Green, still undergoing hormone therapy, is in clinical remission. The great news is that "I feel amazing and I have my taste buds again."
Just in time, too.
Green has spent the last couple of weeks preparing for Ivanna Cone's Friday reopening, a date that was circled on the calendar way back in December when she called for "an ice cream sabbatical."
A break might have been needed. The COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on all small businesses, but Green can make the case that 2020 hit Ivanna Cone harder than most.
It started a year ago when her daughter Grace, who manages the ice cream shop, shattered her ankle and was unable to run the counter just as the pandemic was beginning to take root.
A few months later, Green got her cancer diagnosis. Chemotherapy began immediately.
To make matters worse, in October, her son Tom contracted COVID-19, forcing a recovering Green into deeper isolation from her family.
By the time December came, Green did the math and figured paying rent while closing the shop during the heart of winter was the best option for financial survival.
Much of the last year has been without customers inside the building. Take-out orders were filled and received at a window that overlooks an alley. On Wednesday, three socially distanced tables were ready for customers, a sign that better days were on the horizon.
"We always figured we'd reopen the first weekend in March," she said.
Her timing couldn't have been better. She was able to stay home during last month's sub-freezing temperatures — a time when ice cream isn't in great demand — and fell into an opening week that will feature Lincoln's first round of spring-like weather.
Amy Green, the owner of Ivanna Cone, was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in May and given six months to live. She's still here and this month her friends celebrated her giving spirit by giving back.
The shop will also likely see added traffic from the girls state high school basketball tournament at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
"I was hoping it would be a nice, easy open-up, but it could be crazy," Green said. "The weather is nice and people are excited to not be stuck at home any more."
"I don't know exactly what to expect," said Jackson Agena, who has spent the better part of the last six years making ice cream. "I've never seen Ivanna Cone with this much social media attention and news coverage. But we've handled high-capacity crowds in the past when we had lines down the block. We'll do it again."
Before the pandemic, Green would have staffed the weekend with 24 workers, or Cone Heads as they have come to be known. She'll attempt to navigate this weekend with eight staff members and a few others who have signed on to help.
"We're out of practice because we haven't been doing this for a while," she said. "March snuck up faster than expected. I'm excited, but also a little bit overwhelmed."
Green spent the week making a variety of flavors. There are four flavors — sweet-cream vanilla, Dutch chocolate, cinnamon and fresh strawberry — that are always on the menu because they are the most popular.
In addition, there will also be puppy chow, birthday cake and a whiskey-based ice cream called cookies and Beam. Green also said there will be vegan options this weekend, with elder flower peach sorbet and chocolate banana macadamia nut.
"Everyone has their own spin on various flavors," she said. "That's what makes ice cream fun and interesting to me. You can just try new things."
Since opening Ivanna Cone in 1997, she has experimented with all kinds of flavors. In 2018, she calculated rolling out 3,000 different flavors — some more conventional than others.
Don't be surprised to see some unique flavors in the coming months — like caramelized onion cheesecake or cucumber dill.
"You'd be surprised how much people like those different flavors," she said.
LINCOLN'S BEST ICE CREAM EXPERIENCES
402 Creamery
402 Creamery
311 N. Eighth St.
What I had: Cinnamon snickerdoodle
Owner Tyler Mannix said he was working in finance when he decided he wanted to do something he was passionate about. “I started on a $50 ice cream machine and fell in love.”
After my first visit to his shop, I’m in love, too. I’m going to say it’s possibly the best ice cream I’ve ever had.
The store’s most popular flavor is monster cookie, which is one of eight signature flavors. Popular with families is the four-scoop flight for $8.80.
When I asked for his secret, Mannix said it’s all homemade, including ingredients he’s made from scratch working to ensure they mix with the ice cream and keep their flavor and texture. So, for instance, rather than hard balls of snickerdoodle cookie dough, the experience is soft and chewy, like the cookie.
In addition to the signature flavors, you can enjoy seasonal flavors, like banana bread, key lime, blueberry muffin and strawberry lemonade.
-- Shelly Kulhanek
Ivanna Cone
Ivanna Cone
701 P St., No. 101
What we had: Dutch chocolate and lemon cake
The dutch chocolate was very sweet and thick, almost gooey. You get stalagmites when you pull the spoon out of it. But if you’re into that sort of thing, I wouldn’t talk anybody out of it.
Sarah said the lemon cake was the perfect balance of sweet and tart and had the added bonus of cake pieces. It was the equivalent of having a brownie in your chocolate ice cream, without being boring chocolate ice cream. The flavors change daily.
The first thing you notice when you walk into the building is the smell of fresh waffle cones. The second thing you notice is the rabbit statue that acts as the door stop, which Sarah said she remembers from when she and her dad visited when she was young.
There are also disco lights, bright-colored walls, the massive ice-cream makers in the entryway, and when we went, the Jackson 5’s “ABC” was playing in the background.
It’s a great excuse to go for a walk in the Haymarket and an A+ option for dessert to wrap up a hot date on a hot day.
-- Alex Lantz
UNL Dairy Store
UNL Dairy Store
114 Food Industry Complex (East Campus)
What I had: Cherry almond
For someone who grew up on a dairy farm in Nebraska, the UNL Dairy Store is a treasured piece of the state's agricultural history. The store opened in 1917 as Varsity Dairy, serving as much milk as you could drink for a nickel (you just had to bring your own cup.)
The modern-day Dairy Store remains a test kitchen of sorts for food science students, who work to research and create products while managing the business. Over the years, the store's focus shifted to ice cream.
I stopped by on a Saturday afternoon and found the 16-flavor dip cabinet devoid of Scarlet & Cream, the so-called fan favorite, so I went with a seasonal choice, cherry almond. Good stuff.
Inside, the Dairy Store doesn't serve a heaping helping of nostalgia. Other than a few photos on the wall, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference from a food court.
But exploring East Campus with your ice cream, you're reminded of agriculture's role in the state. And the Dairy Store's role in reminding visitors of that vital link.
-- Todd Henrichs
Dairy Joe's ice cream
Dairy Joe’s
8235 W. O St., Emerald
What I had: Dulce de leche
If you’re looking for Joe at Dairy Joe’s in nearby Emerald, you’re going to be disappointed. But you won’t be disappointed with the quality of ice cream or the friendly service.
In addition to ice cream, you can get a cup of joe and you might meet the owner of the building, JoAnn Benes, if she’s in at her adjacent small antique shop, Emerald Hen’s Nest.
Benes’ daughter, Kathryn Benes-Pierce, and her husband, David Pierce, who live in Denton, run the ice cream/coffee shop, which has an old-style malt shop vibe. They get their ice cream from Hiland Dairy and try and source other products locally, like the Dogurt (yogurt for dogs) from Omaha.
I brought my niece and nephew with me and both gave Dairy Joe’s a thumbs-up.
When asked to describe his chocolate ice cream, 7-year-old Cam said it had “a deep flavor.” Syndee, 9, declared her chocolate chip cookie dough “the best ice cream ever.” Both may have been taking their jobs as reviewers a bit too seriously, but I also thought my dulce de leche-flavored cone was top-rate.
-- Shelly Kulhanek
Neveria Arcoiris
Nevería Arcoiris
1035 G St. and 1317 N. 10th St.
What I had: Mangonada made with mango ice cream
I've seen a tourism slogan urging people to be a tourist in their own hometown. I felt like one when I stepped into Nevería Arcoiris, which translates to rainbow ice cream.
Bright colors, lots of Spanish-speaking neighbors and about 16 homemade ice creams in freezer cases with names like chicle rosa (pink gum), menta (mint), fresa ague (strawberry water), rompope (eggnog) and maracuya (passion fruit).
Owners Adela Sanchez and her husband, Lucio, were among those behind the counter scooping and creating colorful concoctions.
Adela said they make nearly all the ice cream for their shop on G Street and another restaurant that shares the same name in the North Bottoms, although they sold the second location because they were too busy to run both.
She said the most popular flavor is mango, which is water-based and reminded me of a sorbet. I had my mango ice cream in a manganado, a spicy Mexican fruit treat with chamoy sauce, mangoes, lime juice, chili powder and decorated with a tamarind straw. It was as tasty as it was pretty.
I also tried the horchata-flavored ice cream, their newest creation, and the queso flavor, which is far better than it sounds.
-- Shelly Kulhanek
Zesto
Zesto
1100 South St. (also at 1501 Pine Lake Road No. 3)
What I had: Hot fudge sundae
Since the 1950s, the ice cream shop on South Street has been a summer tradition in Lincoln. The city was much smaller then, but returning to the Zesto's drive-in always takes me back to a small town, with families stopping for ice cream as a treat to end the day.
In Nebraska, Zesto has always maintained a special link to the College World Series in Omaha, with fans walking across the street to enjoy a cone or a malt for decades at Rosenblatt Stadium and now at the new stadium downtown.
Perhaps that is why the ice cream from Zesto just seems to have a more nostalgic feel than what you might enjoy elsewhere. And though the ice cream is the same, there's something extra special about the treats from the drive-in location, versus a more strip mall setting.
Lincoln lost a similar drive-in when a tornado wiped out C & L Dairy Sweet near Pioneers Park this spring. Let's hope the Zesto tradition lives on.
-- Todd Henrichs
Freezing Thai
Freezing Thai
210 N. 14th St. No. 6
What I had: S'mores Galore
A treat from Freezing Thai will cost you a little more, but after all, ice cream is a treat. And watching servers whip up the frozen treat by hand makes Freezing Thai a unique experience.
Seeing it all come together is unlike other sweet shops in town.
Freezing Thai is more than ice cream. Every serving comes with something extra. Like the graham cracker and marshmallows roasted with a hand-held torch as part of my S'mores Galore.
Other choices? Morning Latte ice cream. Key Lime Pie. Mango Tango. The cigar-shaped ice cream rolls and toppings are a ready-made Instagram post.
Freezing Thai's downtown location is convenient to campus, and because servings are huge, two people can share a treat, minimizing some of the sticker shock.
-- Todd Henrichs
Cold Stone Creamery
Cold Stone Creamery
2910 Pine Lake Road Suite P
What we had: Chocolate with Oreos in a waffle bowl and Chocolate with graham cracker pie crust and Snickers.
You’re encouraged to choose from a variety of add-ins, and I appreciated the build-your-own concept. The waffle bowl, however, was stale and didn’t add to the experience like I hoped it would.
Sarah was initially excited about the possibility of graham crackers in her ice cream — she thinks they are an under-appreciated dessert option — but the chocolate ice cream was not rich enough for her taste. The Snickers bits were good, though, because you can’t go wrong with Snickers.
Its location at SouthPointe Pavilions is super convenient if you’re looking for a snack between shopping stops or desert after pizza at Old Chicago, which is a stone's throw from the front door.
-- Alex Lantz
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen
3835 South St. (several Lincoln locations)
What I had: Zero Gravity Blizzard
For a limited time, DQ is offering a Zero Gravity Blizzard to celebrate the moon landing's 50th anniversary. The blue-colored treat is made with Oreo cookie pieces, chocolate swirls, sweet cotton candy crunch topping and glittery star sprinkles. Yep, glitter in ice cream.
This Blizzard was probably more appropriate for smurfs and 6-year-old girls, but it did share one ingredient with the South Street DQ's most popular Blizzard -- Oreo.
I quizzed the server about why they serve Blizzards upside down, and she stated the obvious "so you know it's not runny," but I did a little research and found out the trademark move had its beginnings with an obnoxious 14-year-old.
In 1959, the owner of a custard stand in St. Louis had a boy who biked to his stand nearly every day for a malt. The boy kept challenging the owner to make it thicker. Finally to shut the kid up, he served it upside down.
The custard stand owner had a competitor who owned a Dairy Queen franchise, and he copied the gimmick and also came up with the idea to put fruit or broken-up candy bar chunks in DQ's soft serve ice cream. At first Mars, which owned M&Ms and Snickers candy brands, refused to ship broken pieces to DQs, as did Oreo. But they finally relented.
-- Shelly Kulhanek
Baskin Robbins
Baskin Robbins
3111 N.W. 12th St.
What we had: Chocolate and orange sherbet
My chocolate ice cream was just that: plain old chocolate ice cream. No complaints here. The orange sherbet was, well, very orange. Neon orange. It tasted like an orange dreamsicle you get from an ice cream truck.
Baskin Robbins has a special place in my heart, having grown up a block away from the Meadowlane Shopping Center. Those days are long gone, though, and the only location in Lincoln now is near the airport in the LNK Food Court.
We were the only visitors at the time on a recent Wednesday afternoon, and I was mostly just disappointed my bowl of ice cream didn’t come with a pink spoon like it used to.
-- Alex Lantz
Goodrich
Goodrich
6940 Van Dorn St. No. 107 (several Lincoln locations)
What we had: Brownie nut fudge and cookies and cream.
The addition of brownie chunks and fudge mixed throughout the chocolate ice cream was a walk on the wild side compared to my standard boring chocolate. The chocolate ice cream itself was not especially flavorful, so for those who prefer a less rich and more subtle chocolate, this ice cream is for you.
Sarah said the cookies and cream was a bit of a disappointment. She wished there were more cookies in the plain vanilla ice cream.
The play here is to get your ice cream and head over to Holmes Lake, which is a short drive south. The problem with that approach is this is July in Nebraska, so by the time you get to the lake, your ice cream is likely to be soup. Or, if you eat as fast as Sarah does, just plain gone.
So instead of making the trip to the lake, we had our eyes on the lone bench outside the store. There was a problem, though: The bench was occupied after we ordered. So we settled for a seat on the curb.
-- Alex Lantz
Reach the writer at 402-473-7391 or psangimino@journalstar.com.
On Twitter @psangimino
March 05, 2021 at 12:57AM
https://journalstar.com/entertainment/dining/after-a-2020-to-forget-lincolns-ivanna-cone-to-resume-serving-scoops/article_ca8258db-503e-5ea4-9e20-14b07556c938.html
After a 2020 to forget, Lincoln's Ivanna Cone to resume serving scoops - Lincoln Journal Star
https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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