A new locally owned and operated ice cream shop serving customizable, blended soft-serve is coming soon to Crescent Heights in St. Pete.

Wildflower Ice Cream plans to be the neighborhood go-to sweet shop at 2603 Dr. MLK Jr. Street North, replacing the shuttered House of Pipes and Cigars shop. The Violet Stone, a local pizzeria that went viral earlier this year, will relocate to a neighboring storefront in the coming months.

The new business, founded by St. Pete residents Steve and Sarah McGarry, will use a Swirl Freeze Blending Machine, an innovative all-in-one machine that easily and quickly swirls ice cream with candies, fruits, nuts, or cookies to create an infinite variety of flavor combinations.

Customers start by selecting either a traditional chocolate and/or vanilla base. 

Then, choose from over 20 mix-ins that will get blended into the ice cream. Toppings include sweet options like cookie dough, chocolate chips, salted caramel in addition to fruit toppings like bananas, blueberries, and pineapple.

The new ice cream shop will offer an equal selection of non-dairy and traditional ice cream options. 

“We understand the struggle of finding delicious ice cream options that cater to everyone's needs. Our son Charlie used to have a dairy sensitivity,” Steve said in a conversation with St. Pete Rising.

Sarah and her husband Steve, a serial entrepreneur and company founder, never expected to one day open an ice cream shop until the opportunity presented itself.

“Having kids, we always find ourselves going to local ice cream shops and parks,” said Steve. “Over the years, as we’ve met other families in St. Pete, we’ve noticed people not wanting to go downtown to get a scoop of ice cream. They wanted an option that was near Crescent Lake.”

Steve and Sarah said the big “aha moment” came when Dairy Inn, a neighborhood staple that served ice cream for 76 years in Crescent Lake, closed in November 2023. 

The nostalgic shop was recently demolished and expected to be the site of a new luxury townhome development - leaving a gap in the ice cream market. 

The McGarry’s plan to work with local businesses, such as coffee roasters and bakeries, to supply toppings for ice cream combinations.

“We are so glad we discovered St. Pete. We feel like St Pete just gave us a big hug when we got here as a young little family,” Sarah said. “Now, we want to become part of the small business community and be a destination for families.” 

Wildflower Ice Cream’s 700-square-foot shop is expected to debut in early 2025.

Follow Wildflower Ice Cream on Facebook and Instagram for the grand opening announcement and ice cream specials.