D'lites Emporium — Restaurant in Gainesville

We used to frequent this business in order to get the ice cream that is very different from places like the typical brand stores (ie. Cold Stone, which has good ice cream, but not the same when it comes to something that was freshly made and not loaded with sugar).

The last time we had this ice cream (maybe 2022-2023 we don’t keep track), it was the same as what we have been served for many years and we’ve lived here in Gainesville for 20.

Unfortunately, this place has also changed.

My wife got a cone that was supposed to be dipped in the hot chocolate. The person behind the counter proceeded to scoop out the chocolate while holding the ice cream cone with the ice cream face up instead of dipping it in. I wasn’t there to witness this (I had our dogs and stayed outside), but I could see when my wife came out of the store that only the tip of the ice cream had chocolate on it with the rest having dribbles of chocolate running down the ice cream. It looked a mess and had it been me, I would’ve just said no stop to what she was doing. That employee should not have spoon dipped the chocolate out and should have informed my wife that there was not enough in the pan to properly dip the ice cream. It should have covered the entire ice cream down to the top rim of the cone. She wasn’t asked and wasn’t looking until the employee came back to the counter with this mess of a cone.

My cup was a swirl (chocolate, vanilla) with a small portion of chocolate sprinkles. Cup size has also changed so the medium I asked for was changed to a small.

Both of our ice cream came out of the machine and it was not good at all. The texture and taste was not what we expected and clearly not the same from our past experience.

I don’t know how many times the business has changed hands but what ever recipe was used years ago should not have been changed. I can only describe the taste as some kind of “ice” watered down something. The chocolate and vanilla didn’t taste like what chocolate and vanilla should taste like and looking at the texture it was clear it was not the same creamy smooth ice cream we once had.

Understandably when businesses change hands there is bound to be some differences but to change the recipe or ice cream or whatever happened, my opinion, just means it’s not going to be received well.

We will not...

When you hit the place with the right workers with the right attitudes and at the right time this place is wonderful! I preferred not to put this on blast but the following has become a trend. There is one specific worker that is utterly miserable and lacks the very foundation of customer service. First interaction she was utterly rude and I gave her the benefit of the doubt that maybe she was having a bad day.l tried to be as positive and upbeat as possible. It seems that she has many bad days and the customers get the wrath of her attitude. Also, heads up when she works they are low on everything and the hot bar is hardly ever stocked when she is working. I had almost given up on this place until I started going when she wasn’t working and had hope in this place again. It is truly delicious on these days! It’s night and day. Also heads up, the hot bar is turned off at 9:00 when they close at 10:00. Which I can understand because you have to clean everything. My disappointment here is a testament to how good their sugar free hot fudge is. This evening the worker who lacks customer service passed the bulk of orders to the other worker. Unfortunately, she made the worse milkshake I have ever had, this could be attributed to her being tired and ready to go home. It was thin and tasted like only cold milk without the “shake”. I choose not to inconvenience them to attempt to fix it. One, I just am too tired to deal with attitude and two at this point with 45 minutes left until close, I’d rather not interfere with the side work and go home and fix the cup of milk with 2nd rate fudge and ingredients. I hope that the worker has better days and that she finds happiness and kindness in whatever she is going through. Needless to say if you can hit this place up at the right time with the right worker it is...

This is the best ice cream you'll ever eat! I've been coming here for 12 or more years. Never disappointed!

Update- Never disappointed but tonight 9/22/23 was not the experience I hoped for. I drive from Jacksonville to enjoy D'lites and typically buy (10)8oz frozen containers to enjoy at home. I came tonight for the Chocolate Expresso. I was told the machine wasn't working. I opted for another flavor and chocolate for my husband. Half way through the chocolate stops working. Such a disappointment! There were only 4 8oz frozen containers as well. Waste of a trip! These things were an inconvenience but what annoyed me was the girl who seemed overly concerned about weighing the ice cream. Curious, what's your target weight and what if it's more? Lol. This girl would have certainly scooped it off. The cups weren't even full! It's not exactly a cheap treat to begin with. To add insult to injury another worker rang me up. I used a $4.25 discount from stars awarded. The server (dark, long hair) proceeded to say aggressively "Why did you only charge her for one" Calm down. I can definitely say when you travel to Clearwater, Tampa, or St. Pete.... you will be truly "D'Lited" by their flavors, customer service, and variety. They don't worry about that 1/8 of an ounce over either! Miss the old...