New ice cream shop Cow & Spoon opens downtown

In June, the new ice cream shop Cow & Spoon opened in downtown Vermillion. Cow & Spoon is in the same building the old ice cream shop Scoops used to be in.  

One of the owners, Leslie Garish, said all four owners wanted to bring an ice cream shop back to Vermillion with a few changes because they all wanted to add to the community in their own way. 

“We all kind of thought about buying it at some point and we just went ahead and did it and then changed some things,” Garish said. “We put a walk-up window and changed the name and we got a different type of ice cream as well.” 

Janet Davison is a customer of Cow & Spoon. She has already been there a few times since they opened and hopes to return before they close for the season after Dakota Days.  

“I think that they do fill a gap that we had there, you know, (to) have a specific place to go and get hand scooped ice cream,” Davison said. “And I also think that it’s a nice addition to the business community.” 

Garish said the four owners are community members raising their families on top of owning the business. Their focus is to produce quality customer service and continue to be very community focused.  

The reason they are able to focus on their customers more, Garish said, is because they know their food is coming from a quality company.  

“We get it from our partners, Stensland Family Farms. They’re out in Larchwood, Iowa,” Garish said. “They’re family run. They care about what’s in their products that they sell.” 

Garish said Cow & Spoon is a family friendly place and something to do during the afternoon or early evening. She said they just want everyone to know that they’re welcome to come down and try a sample. 

Over the summer Cow & Spoon primarily served the local Vermillion community, but with school in session, Davison hopes university students will visit the new shop.

“I think during the summer it was the local community and the kids, the children who were not in school,” Davison said. “I think during the school year is going to be everybody, including college students.” 

Davison said she hopes university students will check out Cow & Spoon because it is not a common business and she believes people will get their money’s worth.  

Cow & Spoon will be sold at USD sporting events in the Dome and the SCSC.