Ice Cream Station opens in Dixon
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DIXON – Dixon has more than once served as an example for media outlets writing about the challenges of living without immediate access to a grocery store stocked with food. The tiny map dot on the edge of Lake and Sanders counties is home to 235 people who have to drive more than 10 miles to the nearest gas station, restaurant, or market. The federal government classifies the community as a “food desert” because of its low access to food, but a local retiree has just installed a culinary oasis for the town.
The Ice Cream Station does not carry major food staples, but has more than a half-dozen flavors of delicious ice cream treats to satisfy almost any dairy-based desire a person could have. Owners Dave Sands and Debra Neustrom said the mobile ice cream trailer, situated at the edge of his property adjacent to Highway 200, has been a longtime project.
“It’s been a couple of years in the making. I built this thing in the back yard and its finally done,” Sands said. “We were going to put a restaurant in there, but we found out that just a grill is $10,000 because everything is custom made so that kind of put a stop to that … One day I just had the idea of how about a concession trailer? So I cut the window into the side, and did all of the inside myself.”
Sands started experimenting with different flavors of syrup about a year before the truck was finished. By the time he opened in mid-August, he was a whiz at creating cones, shakes, Italian sodas, and old timey ice cream sodas. The first day was a little slow, but Sands said he managed to hook the kids by offering the first cone free.
“The response has been wonderful, way better than I would expect in this tiny little town,” Sands said. “We have a lot of locals. Of course all the kids come. I’ve got a special on the kid’s cone for $1.50 and I give them a really good scoop.”
As summer fades, the couple plan to try other food and drink to meet the needs of customers.
“We’re probably going to tough it out in the winter here, only with like hot drinks, coffee, hot chocolate, tea, hot apple cider,” Sands said. “Maybe we’ll put a little seating area in the store.”
The store is the building next door to the Ice Cream Station that houses Neustrom’s artwork and beadery that the couple originally wanted to put a restaurant in. Regardless of how much the business grows in the future, Dixon residents are happy the Ice Cream Station opened.
“We’re just excited to have an ice cream truck in the area,” Dixon resident Martha Swonson said. “I’m going to go have an iced coffee after Melon Days, and I’ll be back with friends.”
