OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — A trip to California connected two Omaha middle school classmates with one Facebook post.
The picture was of a dessert they never had before: rolled ice cream.
After messaging each other back and forth, they knew they had to bring the frozen goodness to Omaha.
It's not your regular scoop and serve ice cream shop.
"It's all about the experience," said co-owner Vandra Caldwell.
It is Mixins.
"Mixins is a homemade rolled ice cream that Vandra and I came up with," explained co-owner Trishonna Helm.
Former middle and high school classmates and 20-somethings Caldwell and Helm own the place.
"Our goal is to bring that West Coast, East Coast city vibe to Nebraska," explained Helm. "We wanted to bring something really fun, creative and give it a whole new dynamic to the ice cream world."
Nearly three years ago, they opened up Mixins rolled ice cream in downtown Omaha.
"You want strawberry ice cream, we're going to mix in fresh-cut strawberries that give it that strawberry flavor," Helm explained.
They came up with their own recipes and developed a menu full of fun flavors like "Pardon My French Toast."
"Pardon my French Toast is amazing if you love Cinnamon Toast cereal. I love the Drumstick as well, the Cotton Candy is amazing and I don't even like cotton candy. That's how extreme and serious our ice cream is," Helm shared.
They also have tempting toppings.
"We've got cereals, we've got candies, we've got cookies, we've got crackers. I mean, anything really that you could think of," Caldwell added.
Strawberry cheesecake is the customer favorite.
Caldwell said creating the desserts is part of the fun.
Customers love to see their names inscribed in ice cream.
But rolling the ice cream...
"That's is the best part," Caldwell said.
"I know sometimes when we're packed, people will complain about the wait, but I promise it's so worth the wait," Caldwell said reassuringly.
All of their desserts are creative concoctions.
"It's so cute. You may not want to eat it. But it even tastes better than it looks," laughed Helm. "On a scale of 1-10, it's like 10 million."
Last week, the two ice cream makers opened up the new Mixins Rolled Ice Cream store in Rockbrook.
"We were self-taught. That's what blows my mind. We had to figure each step of the way," shared Caldwell.
So far, so good.
The duo said there's even more in store for Mixins.
"An ice cream truck is on the way and we have a few other tricks up our sleeve," shared Helm.
"We don't look at ourselves like just an ice cream shop. We are a household, a lifestyle and a brand. We're not limiting ourselves to ice cream," Caldwell stated.
The future looks sweet for these young entrepreneurs inspired by ice cream.
"I'm so proud of us. The love that we get from the community has just been so wild for us to even wrap our minds around," Caldwell admitted.
If you're in a hurry and you don't have time for the ice cream fanfare, Mixins has started making pre-rolled ice cream.
All you need to do is order your toppings and can get out the door faster.
With their grand opening last Saturday, there are now two locations: Downtown Omaha at 1405 Jackson and in Rockbrook at 2621 South 108th Street.
To see all their fun and delicious ice cream combinations, visit their Facebook page.
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