When Las Vegas’ Museum of Ice Cream has its grand opening July 3 at Area15, the nearly 30,000-square-foot spot will welcome visitors to such themed attractions as the Golden Scoop Buffet, the self-proclaimed world’s largest all-you-can-eat ice cream service; the Cone-sino, a family-friendly entertainment floor; and the Little Pink Chapel, a wedding venue designed like a tiered wedding cake “with ordained ministers on staff.” (Say “I do” and then slurp?) The museum is the largest in the company’s portfolio, surpassing its New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and Singapore locations.
Manish Vora, cofounder and CEO, says, “We didn't come to Las Vegas to do what we've done before. We came to build the wildest, most immersive, most interactive experience we have ever created. … This is not Museum of Ice Cream 2.0. This is Museum of Ice Cream, only in Las Vegas.”
The city has a long, sweet history with the frozen treat, as Sarah Lohman, food historian, author of the upcoming book Ice Cream Land, and Las Vegas resident points out. She sends a link to a 1905 photo showing early McWilliams townsite residents standing in front of the First State Bank of Las Vegas, with a just-visible sign in the background reading “ice cream.”
“There was an icehouse here by 1905, and Anderson Dairy was established in 1907,” Lohman says. Anderson has been making its popular ice creams, including Bananas Foster and Butter Pecan, since “sometime in the 1940s,” according to a company spokesperson.
Ice cream, of course, has a much older global history, Lohman says. A first iced dessert originated in ancient Persia (now Iran). By the time of the Tang Dynasty (about 618-907), Chinese royalty were enjoying frozen milk desserts, and, as the centuries passed, the Italians, possibly using recipes brought back by Marco Polo, “took the process a bit further,” she says, creating sorbetto and gelato.
The treat made its way to the American colonies via England. “The founding fathers were big fans,” Lohman says. Philadelphia emerged as an early center; there, it was handcrafted by free African American culinary professionals, many of them women. Philly is also credited with popularizing frozen custard, which differs from ice cream primarily because of eggs and air.
And here the story circles back to Las Vegas and one of its frozen dessert icons: Luv-It Frozen Custard. Founded in 1973, the tiny storefront near Oakey and Las Vegas boulevards sits in an unprepossessing lot, which, on a recent visit, also housed a 1-800-GOT-JUNK truck and a somewhat suspicious-looking fast cash/convenience store.
But the locale hasn’t deterred four generations of locals from pounding a path to its walk-up windows. “I’ve been coming here for decades,” said one gentleman in line. And for good reason: Luv-It’s products are celebrated on best-of food lists both in Las Vegas and elsewhere. The Western Sundae, featuring custard, hot fudge, hot caramel, and pecans, remains the bestseller, but not to be outdone is the Luv-It Special, custard topped with strawberries and pecans.
Then there are the newcomers. Local artisan maker Sorry, Not Sorry Creamery opened its first location in March 2022, and now has five in Nevada. The company attributes its popularity to using “the highest legal limit of butterfat,” and its unique flavors, including Coffee and Doughnuts 2.0 and Honey Lavender. (Lohman’s favorite is Ube Honeycomb, which blends crunchy honeycomb candy pieces into a base made with the Filipino yam ube.) And, Vegas being Vegas, the Craft Creamery Speakeasy in the Arts District is the place to sample spiked ice cream or milkshakes.
So there’s no need to scream — Las Vegas has plenty of ice cream for everyone.
