Hurricane Ian-damaged Sanibel ice cream shop opens off-island location in Cape Coral
Everything was going well for Laurie Verme’s Sanibel’s Best Homemade Ice Cream.
She had just bought the Crooked Cow Creamery food truck to “add flair” to the shop’s menu with alcohol-infused ice cream options.
Four days later, Hurricane Ian hit and Verme was out of business.
“I really wanted to reopen on Sanibel,” said Verme, who opened Sanibel’s Best in the Seahorse Shops on the east end of Periwinkle Way near Lighthouse Beach in 2017. “I’m hoping to go back there one day.”
In the meantime, she ran her Crooked Cow food truck for 10 months and snagged a spot at the new Rooftop at Riverside in Bonita Springs.
Then, a year after Ian destroyed her beloved shop, a spot on Del Prado Boulevard in Cape Coral, “miraculously became available.”
After signing a lease in September, Sanibel’s Best Homemade Ice Cream Proudly Presents Crooked Cow Creamery debuted Feb. 5 in the former home of Life — The Vegan Drive Thru. It's just south of Hooters and north of Azucar Restaurant & Bakery and FINS Seafood & Dive Bar.
“When we were growing on Sanibel, we wanted to expand and looked into the Fort Myers area,” said Verme, a former nurse. “When I saw this, that was it. The drive-thru is exactly why I wanted this spot. My father owned McDonald’s franchises. He was known as the King of the Drive-Thru for having the fastest ones. I know how to do a drive-thru.”
Since the building previously was a restaurant, a lot was already in place when Verme took over.
“We painted, did the floors, got new tables, countertops,” she said. “The drive-thru has a new POS system. We have the blenders ready to go. We lost both ice cream machines in the hurricane, but the new one is here.”
Ice cream with a nod to Sanibel
That homemade ice cream is at the heart of her business.
“The dairy mix makes it so good,” Verme said. “When someone tries our ice cream, they really like it. It sets us apart.”
Many of the 32 rotating flavors have Sanibel-related names, ranging from Sanibel Snow (vanilla) and Sea Urchin (fudge chocolate) to Dolphin Tracks — white cake base with marshmallows, rainbow sprinkles and chocolate chips.
According to Alice Verme, the CEO of Sanibel’s Best and Laurie’s daughter, Sea Monster (white cake batter with crushed Oreos and cookie batter) is one of the more popular flavors, along with Pelican Poop (vanilla with rainbow sprinkles, M&Ms and marshmallow fluff) and Sanibel Seashells (light maple butter pecan with chocolate enrobed toasted coconut and mixed nuts).
Alcohol-infused flavors, for 21-and-up only, include the Cow’s Pina Colada, Cow’s Chocolata Martini, Western Cow’s Moonshine and Purple Loopy Cow with black raspberry vodka ice cream and chocolate chips.
“Everyone who gets the alcohol-infused ice cream loves it,” Alice said.
Ice cream comes in bowls (from kiddie size to quarts), waffle or wafer cones, sundaes, malts, shakes, floats, frappes, crushies, smoothies, banana splits and cookie sandwiches.
“But we do more than ice cream,” Laurie said.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner offered all day
They sure do. Open daily at 6 a.m., breakfast sandwiches ($4.50) include bacon, egg and cheese; sausage, egg and cheese; and egg and cheese, served on croissants. Combos with hashbrowns and a small drink or 16-ounce drip coffee are $6.25.
Fresh-baked locally-made pastries range from croissants for $3.95 to baklava, giant cinnamon rolls, muffins and strudel for $4.95 each and crumb cake, eclairs and brownie bites for $5.95.
“A bacon, egg and cheese with a shake would be my go-to,” Laurie said.
Hot or iced specialty coffees include latte, cappuccino, affogato and more. There’s soy, oat, coconut and almond milk and flavor shots too.
Lunch sandwiches (turkey, caprese, chicken salad and Italian) come with a three-bean salad and chips on a baguette or croissant for $12.95. Add a 32-ounce drink for $2 more or a shake for $7.
“We’ve already had repeat customers come in for lunch,” Alice said.
Popcorn, made-fresh mini doughnuts and alcohol-infused ice creams are all new to the Cape shop and weren’t offered on Sanibel.
While the bulk of the business on the island was ice cream, Laurie predicts the drive-thru will be the big draw in Cape.
For those dining in, seating is available inside and on chairs outside, set up along the front.
More Cape Coral news: New restaurant brings brunch to Cape Coral seven days a week
A ribbon-cutting and grand opening is being planned for March, “after we get settled here.”
“Eventually we will expand to Orlando and Davenport areas,” Laurie said. “But we want to make this our flagship store.”
Until then, the Vermes and team will be settling into their new location.
“Tourism was our business on Sanibel,” Laurie said. “We were a big part of the community. We expect more families to come in here. We want to bring the community feel we had on Sanibel to Cape Coral.”
Sanibel’s Best Homemade Ice Cream Proudly Presents Crooked Cow Creamery, 3310 Del Prado Blvd., Cape Coral; open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily; (239) 476-0796; thegreatesticecream.com or follow on Facebook
Robyn George is a food and dining writer for The Fort Myers News-Press. Send news to [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Ian-destroyed Sanibel's Best Homemade Ice Cream opens in Cape Coral
