Sweet Cream Co. — Restaurant in Columbia

I had high hopes for Sweet Cream, a locally owned and operated shop with unique flavors. We are a family of eight and have visited Sweet Cream twice. The ice cream is good, but the scoops are small and pricey, as I suppose is to be expected in an "artisan" restaurant. However, the reason I gave them two stars is poor customer service. The milkshake we ordered was not filled to the top of the cup. There is a sign on the ice cream display "Please purchase ice cream if you sample." I believe the point, especially in an establishment that boasts unique flavors, of samples is to decide whether you want to buy. One staff member who was working on both occasions was unpleasant and lacked basic service skills- a smile, a welcome, an effort to assist customers in understanding the product. (The other employee on this visit was helpful, polite, and served multiple samples without complaint.) My 8 year old asked about flavors to which the server replied they were all labeled and on the board and she could read them herself. There was no attempt to sell the product or help the customer. I contacted the owners directly through email, and while Jessica was polite and apologetic, she made excuses (new employees and "we're not perfect") and blanket statements of using our experience as a teaching opportunity but made no offer, at the very least, of an invitation to return to the shop so that they could have a chance to demonstrate an improvement in service or to make restitution for the lacking milkshake (we spent over $35- a real splurge- on ice cream as a special reading reward for our children). As a resident of Columbia of over 40 years, I long to see local businesses thrive, especially downtown. But Sweet Cream has not been family friendly in our experience. Sadly I cannot offer a wholehearted endorsement...

Excited about the interesting flavors offered on the website, we came on a Saturday evening around 8, and they were already out of nearly half their flavors! Also, despite the Google description, they did not serve cake, only ice cream, coffee, and "artisanal soda". We were greeted by a delicious baked smell when we walked in, however, and when I asked, one of the employees said it was probably the waffle cones or cookies baking in the back.

We pointed out the limited ice cream choices, but no one really addressed that or tried to help us pick out alternatives--instead quietly standing there while we figured out what we wanted and then mechanically handing over samples. The ice cream was good, even though chocolate isn't as interesting as blueberry French toast or lemon poppyseed, but I agree with previous complaints about service. It definitely could have been delivered at least with some smiles and more happy, friendly, outgoing demeanors--what one expects when they go to an ice cream shop.

Also, I did notice the sign in the freezer window indicating samples were only for purchasing customers and did think for a second about how likely we would want any of the remaining available flavors. I can appreciate the need for a small business to limit samples, but maybe there's a more tactful way to get the message across. I wonder if they've had a problem with customers getting lots of samples without purchasing...

After a late lunch on a Thursday afternoon in January, we took a stroll down Main St. and came across Sweet Cream Co.

A lovely little sweets shop… as we opened the door the smell of the fresh baked homemade Brookies carried us right in. I did plan to grab one to go but got distracted trying to decide on what flavored scoops I wanted.

Alice, the young lady who served us was just as sweet as the treats, and she was extremely patience as I worked thru my indecisiveness in real time. I sampled the Bourbon Dark Cherry and Banana Pudding, both were really good and made my decision making even harder.

I ultimately decided on sorbet since we just had lunch and went with the Raspberry Sparkletini and Lemon. They were lite and refreshing and didn’t leave me feeling heavy or stuffed. The tart of the lemon with flakes of lemon zest helped to balance the sweetness of the raspberry sparkletini. While both ice cream samplings were delicious the sorbet was the right choice.

A stroll and 2 scoops for $6.75, was the perfect way to cap the afternoon. However, I will be back for both the brookies and banana pudding ice cream.

Just A Note:

They make waffle cones...