UDairy Creamery comes to Wilmington [video]

 (Nichelle Polston/WHYY)

(Nichelle Polston/WHYY)

The University of Delaware sets up shop with a special treat in the City of Wilmington.

“I have one guilty pleasure in life and it’s ice cream,” said Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki.

UDairy Creamery officially opened its doors on Tuesday in the 800 block of Market Street. University of Delaware President Dennis Assanis along with Gov. John Carney and Mayor Purzycki participated in a ceremonial ice cream scooping instead of the traditional ribbon cutting to welcome the new attraction.

“The key is attractions here downtown and so having an ice cream store like UDairy that’s got great ice cream and other dairy products produced by the students at the University of Delaware and the agriculture program is really going to be an attraction for folks,” Carney said. “Everybody loves ice cream and it’s a good way to introduce students to downtown Wilmington and help revitalized our Market Street Mall.”

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Crowds filled Market Street to get a taste of the ice cream and four free featured flavors including Mango Sorbet and Raspberry Cheesecake. Two other flavors had special names such as “1923” that’s named in honor of UD’s Study Abroad 90th Anniversary and the “8th and Market,” honoring the location of the new store.

“We’re partners with the community, we love being here. We love sharing our students and our ice cream with the people of Delaware, so we’re thrilled,” Assanis said.

In addition to the new Wilmington location, UDairy has a store on campus as well as a roving truck for ice cream lovers. Students are a part of the entire operation.

“We don’t just scoop the ice cream, we actually make the ice cream here from the first ingredients, from the cow to the cone,” Assanis said.

According to the mayor, the creamery is part of plans to revitalize Wilmington which is gradually going as planned.

“Everybody wants the city to grow in big leaps and bounds. You know how the city grows? It grows in small increments of quality. It’s the small things that make a city great,” Purzycki said.

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