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SCREAM ice cream shop opens in Fairfield
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FAIRFIELD – An ice cream shop has opened in the strip mall on Fairfield’s South Main Street.
The shop is called SCREAM, and it sells Scream Ice Cream, which Fairfield resident Kate Vigmostad started making in 2022. After starting small and working out of her house, Vigmostad moved her operation into The Collective on North Fourth Street.
Vigmostad said that securing a grant of just under $100,000 from the Dairy Business Innovation Alliance in 2023 was huge for her business, because it allowed her to invest in capital.
“It gave us a lot of room to really do something,” Vigmostad said. “Ice cream equipment is really expensive.”
Vigmostad said one of her purchases was a freezer, and even though it was used, it cost $30,000. She said the upside is that it’s a high-quality brand that will last a long time.
In 2023, Scream Frozen Desserts acquired space in the strip mall on South Main Street and rebuilt the kitchen inside. Locals may know it as the old location of Mike & Nikki’s. Though it was once a restaurant, most of its restaurant equipment had been removed when it converted to High Temperature Dance Studio, which later moved into a space on the west side of the square.
Vigmostad’s partner Mattie Kennedy rebuilt the kitchen, which is in a different room from Mike & Nikki’s kitchen, and installed all the sinks. The company expanded by acquiring more space in the strip mall farther south on Dec. 1, and spent the rest of the month working hard to be able to open to the public.
The ice cream shop opened its storefront on Jan. 8. Vigmostad said the reception from the public has been very good, especially considering it’s the middle of winter. The business can seat 43 customers, though Vigmostad said they have space to add more seating.
The ice cream shop offers scoops, waffle cones, milkshakes, root beer floats, ice cream sandwiches and affogato ice cream with espresso.
Kennedy said the business also has a food truck it sells its ice cream out of. He said the company sold from it when RAGBRAI came to Fairfield, and they’re thinking about traveling with RAGBRAI to sell again next year.
Scream Ice Cream can be found in several grocery stores in Iowa, including at Fairfield Hy-Vee and Everybody’s Whole Foods.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
