You simply can’t visit Traverse City without enjoying a cool treat at Moomers Homemade Ice Cream. The shop is located just five miles from beautiful downtown Traverse City next to a dairy farm. And it’s all about family at this popular destination. Moomers is owned and operated by the Plummer family who share their passion for ice cream and agriculture with area residents and tourists. Nancy Plummer had tossed around the idea of opening an ice cream shop for years. As the owner of a dairy farm with her husband Bob, she thought it was an ideal location. To learn about the ice cream business, she contacted the Ice Cream Association and they put her in touch with the Durant family, owners of Uncle Ray’s Dairyland in Fenton. “They trained me in all aspects of the ice cream business. They were my mentors,” says Nancy. They have remained good friends and still call each other for advice.
Although Moomers started out as a small mom-and-pop shop, it now serves 1,200 guests on a busy summer day. Part of the rise in its popularity is due to a Good Morning America contest that voted it the “Best Scoop in America” in 2008. “That put us on the map,” Nancy says. But what really makes Moomers so popular is the homemade premium ice cream made fresh on the premises, and what the family calls “the Moomers experience.”
“We are a destination,” says Nancy. Black and white dairy cows wander the pastures and customers enjoy sitting on the outside deck to watch them. “The cows are very entertaining,” laughs Nancy. “Most people today are not exposed to agriculture.”
Moomers makes more than 160 flavors of premium ice cream and serves everything from traditional cones to ice cream cakes. According to Nancy, the favorite treat is the turtle sundae, the best seller is the small cone (which reallly isn’t small) and the homemade waffle cones are especially popular. Also on the menu are milkshakes, malts, coolers, floats and old-fashioned sodas. The Cow Pie is an ice cream sandwich with any flavor of ice cream between homemade chocolate chip or sugar cookies. An entire family can enjoy the Wholey Cow – ten scoops of ice cream covered with every topping they have, plus bananas, brownies and an entire can of whipped cream!
Are you screaming for ice cream after a hot day at the beach? Head to Moomers for a delightful experience.
