July is Ice Cream Month, so we decided to celebrate with a trip to the Venice Avenue Creamery in beautiful downtown Venice. Formerly known as Bresler’s, this was a great find. As their sign says, “It’s the same folks with a different name.”
They told us that they have been serving up premium hand-dipped ice cream since 1967. Our favorite part was that their ice cream is made right on site. Better yet, they use local dairies for their stock.
The Creamery
We discovered this place quite by accident. My wife’s ice cream alert went off as we were with friends shopping in the Historic Downtown Venice district. It was a particularly hot day so when she asked if anybody wanted ice cream, we all were ready.
Over the course of our travels we have visited a number of great Florida ice cream locations. We have enjoyed The Love Boat at Fort Myers Beach, the Frostbite in Frostproof, Joe’s Eats & Sweets on Anna Maria Island and Englewood’s Made in the Shade.
Most of them feature retro interiors with oldies music. We enjoy it as it adds to the dining experience. However, Venice Avenue Creamery has no such gingerbread – they carry it all on the strength of their ice cream.
The Decisions
Exactly what to get turned out to be a rather difficult decision for most of us. The flavors include, but are not limited to, the basics such as chocolate, vanilla and butter pecan – as well as the more unusual such as Cookie Monster, Coffee Oreo and Birthday Cake.
Moreover, it was not just cones. There were classic sundaes, their own signature sundaes and banana splits. Oh, did I mention there also is a full menu of shakes, flurries and floats? We missed the Independence Day special – a Stars, Stripes & Sundae. That was dollop of soft serve set in a cotton candy bowl.
In addition to handmade ice cream, we also could have had a home made brownie to boot.
In all, our tastes were pretty simple. We ordered individual waffle cones of chocolate chip mint, butter pecan, caramel walnut and vanilla.
A Great Place for All
We were a group of shoppers. But while we were in there we saw individuals, families and even couples coming in to enjoy both some great ice cream and an air-conditioned respite from a blistering July day in the Sunshine State.
Make no mistake, the Venice Avenue Creamery’s ice cream is not inexpensive. That being said, we can attest for our orders, it was worth every creamy lick.
In fact, this is a place that begs us to return to try some of their other creations. I am quite keen to taste some of their shakes, my wife likes the floats and we have discussed sharing a banana split.
When you’re visiting Historic Downtown Venice – even if it’s not Ice Cream Month – we can recommend a wonderful little shopping break at the Venice Avenue Creamery. And you’ll be supporting some local dairies as well.