Blackbird Market — Restaurant in Beaver

I don't know where to begin.....

My husband and I recently tried this place for the first time. What a HUGE disappointment!

First, do not come here unless you have a big chunk of free time. Service was one of the slowest I ever encountered....anywhere. There were three employees working and they were working hard, but holy hell! We could not believe how slow it was! There were 4 people in front of us but each one took forever to serve. I can't begin to imagine how long people will have to wait on a hot day in July when crowds are bigger.

Before we went into the store, we were chatting with a man who had ordered the Dubai chocolate pistachio ice cream. We asked how it was, he sounded underwhelmed. Despite the lukewarm referral, my husband decided to give it a try and I got the butter pecan caramel. These two items cost just over $18. We travel all over the world for work and pleasure. That price is high even for world capitals such as Beijing, Tokyo and even Dubai....but this is Beaver, PA...get a grip!

The ice cream..... extremely disappointing. My husband LOVES ice cream and and he said he thinks this is the first time he actually threw any away. He said the toppings were overly sweet and he could not taste pistachio. He still doesn't know what flavor the ice cream was other than "odd." The only flavor he could pick up on was cinnamon. The consistency was also "off."

Mine was SO sickly sweet. Don't order the butter pecan caramel thinking it's actually butter pecan in a traditional sense with some caramel twirled in. It was delivered to me in the waffle bowl in an almost soup like consistency and coated in way too much caramel sauce. Eating it was like constantly biting into chunks of sugar (which I later found out was actually candied pecans). I saw when I ordered "candied pecans" as an optional mix-in, which I did not order. I thought I was getting a simple "butter pecan" ice cream that happened to have caramel. I literally could not get over how sweet it was. It was sickening. I ate more than I should have, having felt guilty for paying so much for the cones, but ultimately, it ended up in the trash alongside my husband's.

We support local businesses and are happy to do so, but we have nothing good to say about our experience here other than the employees were hard working and very sweet and we did get a nice walk with our dog out of...

I have been excited for this place to open and since it has I’ve been there multiple times a week. This is not your typical ice cream store. It’s not classic scopes, but the typical toppings and mixed into the ice cream with a machine and then served like a soft serve. They have knowledge on gluten and dairy sensitivities. I really enjoy the ice cream and the mix in options they have are extensive for both gluten and dairy free. I also love being able to have a cone again!! However, I will say the place is NOT a gluten nor dairy free facility. I was excited for it to be an entirely safe place to eat gluten free, but they’ve chosen to have some toppings with gluten in them. This could be an easy fix, to ensure gluten free safety, but they have decided to include these gluten items on the menu which raises cross contamination risk. I hope to see these products removed as it will lessen the anxiety of eating there for anyone with celiac and there are still plenty of mix ins without them, but until they remove them they are trying to mitigate the issue. They do clean their machines twice if you have an allergy which is nice. But, multiple times I have still had residue from the previous ice cream in my own cone. It was a bit concerning for me, but seeing as I did not get sick, I will continue to eat there until I do. They are working out kinks and it is great to give them time to do so. I read another rating that was disappointed there are no local connections with things being sold in the store, and I have talked to someone at the store who said they hope to build connections to sell other people’s products in the store. There are not many places in the area selling gluten free items so it may be hard for them to promote other local businesses. If you know of some, suggest it to the owner or workers when you’re there. They want to be supportive of other businesses! Also, yes the one day they had melty ice cream, but the other days have been great and regardless it was delicious and no need to be thrown out. One hiccup should not define a business in their first couple weeks of opening. They’re doing amazing and I can’t wait to see the improvements as...

Blackbird Market has so much to offer! First, it has a very convenient location in downtown Beaver with walking distance to many other shops and restaurants. Upon entering you are greeted by a selection of gift items and original artwork. Along the walls and tables is an amazing gluten-feee marketplace. If you or someone in your life is gluten-free, you absolutely must check out Blackbird Market. They have a huge selection of items and brands that I have never seen anywhere else. Mixes for gluten-free biscuits and gravy and garlic knots?! Unheard of. Also lots of gluten free pastas, snacks, and sweet treats. Towards the back is where you will find a coffee and Mexican hot chocolate bar (perfect on a chilly day!) but most importantly…the ice cream. They make gluten feee waffle cones and bowls in house, and offer a selection of regular and dairy-free ice creams with a huge list of fixings to mix and not your ice cream (including gluten-free and dairy-free options) and toppings. The staff are super helpful and can assist you with making selections and giving suggestions if you need help making up your mind. But don’t worry, you will want to be back again to try other flavor combinations, and their menu changes to keep things exciting. Don’t forget to head next door to checkout the wine selection at Crafted by Blackbird to bring a bottle home. These business are new to Beaver, and we are lucky to have...