Little Man’s Wonka-Like Ice Cream Factory Opens This Summer

Proving that dreams really can come true, this summer Little Man Ice Cream is opening a 6,000-square-foot ice cream factory and tasting room. Yes, tasting room.

This beacon in the darkness that is the summer of 2018 is shooting for a late July opening at 4411 West Colfax Avenue. Little Man also will soon open its Constellation brand in Stapleton and Churn Ice Cream in Fort Collins. The Sloan’s Lake factory will be “a cross between Willy Wonka whimsy and the industrial machine age,” according to a release. This apparently means lots of shiny steel and pipes, with quirky touches — like the giant tubular slide for kids — thrown in for good measure.

The new Little Man factory will triple the company’s ice cream production, all of which is currently made in an 800-square-foot kitchen inside a small Victorian house within walking distance of the original Little Man milk can in LoHi. Little Man is making the factory its flagship location, where ice cream lovers can congregate to watch the churning of the object of their desire, and, of course, eat copious amounts of ice cream. There will be all kinds of scoops, pints, ice cream sandwiches, sundaes, malts, and, for the first time in Little Man’s 10-year history, ice cream flights.

Guests will enter the factory through a walk-in freezer and pop into a space designed to replicate an industrial ice cream churn. Most features are round or cylindrical to keep that churning theme going. There will be circular brick work, round iron chandeliers, a spinning menu of daily flavors, and a curving stage for entertainment. Oh, and an overhead conveyor belt repurposed from a former dry cleaner that will deliver the ice cream across the factory. That’s worth mentioning.

Once open, the factory will welcome customers from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. for self-guided tours and tastings.

• All Previous Coverage of Little Man Ice Cream [EDEN]
• Constellation Ice Cream Will Now Be Scooping by Early 2018 [EDEN]