Little Truckee Ice Creamery, which specializes in handcrafted, small batch ice cream, just opened its first store in Reno.
Reno just scooped up another new ice cream shop.
California-based Little Truckee Ice Creamery opened its first Reno store at the McQueen Crossings shopping center on Robb Drive. The store officially opened in August.
Founded in 2017, Little Truckee Ice Creamery specializes in making small batches of handcrafted ice cream. The business traces its roots to a little scoop shop and ice cream production kitchen that founder Kenny Blum opened on the west end of Donner Lake.
“Prior to starting the creamery, Kenny had two other successful businesses in the outdoor adventure guide industry,” said Rob Flesher, who is Blum’s business partner for the Reno location. “He recognized the need for premium ice cream in the Truckee-North Tahoe area.”
Since then, Little Truckee Ice Creamery has grown to include two stores plus two seasonal trailers. The company’s year-round stores are located in Donner Lake and Reno while its two seasonal trailers can be found in downtown Truckee and downtown Tahoe City.
Blum has always wanted to open a location in Reno but was busy with the Donner store and two seasonal trailers. Flesher decided to step in to help make the Reno location a reality.
“I was in a career transition and was looking for something different to do for my second career,” Flesher said. “After almost 30 years in the outdoor industry, I’m excited to … take on the challenges of a small business and work in the very fun business of ice cream.”
Little Truckee Ice Creamery currently has 56 ice cream flavors under its belt, including seasonal and limited-time offerings. The choices are a mix of traditional classics such as Cookies & Cream and Mint Chip plus unique flavors concocted by Blum, who took the University of Guelph’s ice cream technology course to learn the science of ice cream making.
Blum especially likes to experiment with local ingredients such as pine nuts, which are found in one of the most popular flavors served by Little Truckee Ice Creamery called Truckee Trails. Created for a fundraiser held by the Truckee Trails foundation, the ice cream flavor includes pine nut brittle and brownie pieces.
Seasonal flavors available at Little Truckee Ice Creamery include Watermelon Sorbet and Persimmon. Its most popular limited-rotation flavor is Blueberry Honey Lavender. The ice cream shop also has non-dairy options such as organic coconut milk-based flavors and organic fruit sorbets.
Little Truckee Ice Creamery’s arrival in Reno marks the latest in a string of ice cream shops to open in the Biggest Little City.
Fallon-based Country Creamery just opened this month at the Reno Experience District on the edge of Midtown.
Last year, Ohio-based Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream opened its first Reno shop, which saw its first customer line up for eight hours to get free ice cream for a year. Not to be outdone, Dairy Queen celebrated its return to Reno by offering free burgers for a year to the first 100 customers who lined up on its opening day.
Little Truckee Ice Creamery aims to distinguish itself through its local, family-owned roots and focus on making everything from scratch, including the cookies, candies and sauces that go into each batch of ice cream.
So far, business has been good in Reno, according to Flesher. The Reno store also tends to get a more steady flow of traffic compared to “the crazy holiday rushes” that Little Truckee Ice Creamery gets at its other locations.
“Everyone has been incredibly welcoming,” Flesher said. “Even before we opened, we had customers knocking on the door asking when we would be opening.”
