You'll find more than banana splits and strawberry shakes at Amherst's new ice cream shop.
The Coldstone Creamery, which has already fattened patrons outside of Western New York with its creamy goodness, celebrated its grand opening in the Buffalo area this Saturday with jazz music, clowns and free spoon samples of Coldstone's original "creations."
Located on Transit Road in the East View plaza, the Creamery offers smoothies, shakes, malts and many blends of delectable ice cream. Customers can choose from the flavors like Cookie Monster, Strawberry Short Cake Serenade and Cheese Cake Fantasy. Customers can even make their own creation with a vast selection of options including brownies and candy.
Though the location may be a bit far from both UB campuses, the quality more than compensates for the drive.
The ice cream is freshly made in the shop. Its smooth and creamy texture is similar to soft-serve ice cream, though the ingredients are far from synthetic. The quality is incomparable to other dessert shops in the neighborhood.
What makes the ice cream impressive is the way the creamery employees assemble the toppings to tantalize your taste buds. There are no toppings or extras in the ice cream alone. Each bowl is made as you order, making each dish different for each customer. The ice cream, brownies and waffle cones and bowls are all made fresh daily at the Coldstone Creamery.
The prices however, are more expensive than the average cone costs due to the quality products that are used in the shop.
A "like it" (small) size scoop of vanilla ice cream with a brownie and a dipped waffle cone will run about $5. The next size, "love it" (medium) compared to their "gotta have it" (large) is not significantly bigger than the small scoop, but it's worth every penny.
The Coldstone Creamery was founded in 1988 by Donald and Susan Sutherland in Tempe, Ariz. Its first franchise opened in Tucson, Ariz., in 1995. Since then, over 1,000 other locations have popped up and many more Coldstone openings will commence in the near future.
"Quality ice cream served by friendly people in a fun-filled environment" is the company's motto. This tradition is apparent with the employees, the product and the excellent service.
At the opening, every customer was greeted at the door by a smiling employee or store manager. They were also given the guarantee that if they didn't "love it," another dessert would be on the house. The employees were helpful and friendly. For a crowded grand opening, the restaurant was clean and the service was fast.
While waiting in line, the employees serenaded the customers with songs about the love of Coldstone ice cream. The entire restaurant was pleasant and filled with fun people making the ice cream experience an enjoyable one.
