DYERSVILLE, Iowa — A shop selling homemade Italian ice, ice cream and gelato will open in Dyersville later this year.
Robin and Jerry Gebhard plan to launch Millwork Creamery at 210 Second St. NE, next to Textile Brewing Co., with a goal of opening sometime in June.
“I think ice cream places are so fun and happy, and in this world, everybody needs a fun, happy place to go,” Robin Gebhard said. “…We’re trying to fill that void in Dyersville with all the future it holds with baseball and everything. There’s going to be so many visitors. We felt that was a missing link.
“It’s always been my passion and something I always wanted to do, and I could never find the right spot. As my husband retired, we felt we could do something like this.”
Making Italian ice has been part of Robin Gebhard’s family for decades. Her father, Robert Mazzone, started Mazzone’s Italian Ice in Chicago in the 1960s. Gebhard said the business started in their basement and eventually grew into a manufacturing facility.
“I’m looking forward to doing my version of my dad’s dream,” Gebhard said. “He started that in the basement with my mom’s blessing and help, and I’m doing this with Jerry’s help and blessing. It’s going into the next generation. And I think it’s cool that it’s in (Jerry’s) hometown, so we kind of each have that perspective.”
Gebhard said all of the Italian ice, ice cream and gelato at Millwork Creamery will be homemade in small batches. She said she also envisions expanding into other desserts, such as cookies and dessert bars, but the initial focus will be on frozen treats.
Gebhard said the owner of the building where the creamery will be located is renovating the property in anticipation of the new business.
The building will have space for three businesses, she said. Gebhard said she also plans to open Millwork Mercantile next door to the creamery, hopefully in the fall. She said the business will offer a wide variety of items, such as art, kitchenware and wellness items.
Dyersville Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Jacque Rahe said she was happy to see the Gebhards starting up a business in a rehabilitated building in the community. She also has tried samples of their ice cream, which she said is a “delicious, delicious recipe.”
“I think it’s one of those out-of-the-way, specialty places people kind of look for to go to in the community,” Rahe said. “They want a local vibe, and this fits in well in the area that it’s in. The downtown is great for locals to stop in and have a gelato, and it also plays in well with the tourists that we have throughout the summer months.”
Updates on Millwork Creamery can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/millworkcreamery.