Blue Cow Ice Cream Co. — Restaurant in Roanoke

prepare for grumpy man rant I don't like change, mostly. I like changing clothes daily, and phones every few years... But that's about it. With everything else i appreciate consistency. So i don't like Blue Cow. Sure the lines are through the door and around the building, the decor and atmosphere is trendy, and the building smells like the inside of a freshly made waffle but i don't like it. Mainly because i liked HITS, the ice cream parlor that was in the same building as Blue Cow for years with the same couple greeting me warmly serving the same ice cream i know and love. I could have lived and died in that place and been perfectly fine with the minimalist decor and no nonsense ice cream flavor choices. I don't need weird ice cream flavors. I don't wanna have to play a mental guessing game to figure out what "Blue Cow Patty" or "brown butter peanut" whatever it was called tastes like. I've been eating ice cream since before i came out the womb- i shouldn't have to sample 4 different flavors to figure out which one tastes closest to regular chocolate ice cream. 🙄

I also don't like this place because of the patrons. The people in Roanoke are like sheep. Actually, they're worse than sheep, more like a dumb bird that sees something sparkly and ends up flying head first into a window. They swarm everything new that comes to the city despite having the same thing, perhaps providing an even better experience, before it. Where was the same support and love months ago?

Lastly, the experience was lame. The kids serving aren't wearing gloves or hair nets. Every last one of them had ice cream stains on their forearms so you know that they're either super sloppy, aren't washing their hands, or aren't wiping the counters. I don't want to have to choose between either of those when you're serving my food. They're also ridiculously slow. It took an exceptionally long time to scoop 4 cones, 2 of which were minis. The kids were sorta polite- in the "can i help who's next?" kinda way but that's to be expected. Nothing about my interactions with them was exceptional and i definitely expect that when 4 cones (2 of which were minis) cost me $18. Plus i was charged wrong- my receipt reads 4 single cones!! I didn't even bother going back inside to get my $2 back. To top things off, there's seating outside on the part of the building that faces the street but the closest trashcan is at the door on the far side of the building so you have to walk thru the swarm of annoying crying little kids, old people trying to be hip, and the middle age group that still posts ice cream pictures online who's only feedback about being at Blue Cow is "yea i ate there it was like.. cool ya know?" No I don't...

Poor customer service st closing. We arrived before the 9:00 PM Sunday closing (which seems too early for a Sunday in August!) and the service was mediocre at best. In addition to our $38 ice cream we purchased a $20 hat, which we were not given after purchasing, and when we asked, "We need our hat?" we were told, "You can grab one." So we had to serve ourselves to the merchandise behind the counter. Then by the time we exited the store, a few minutes after closing time, we overheard an employee telling some patrons on the patio that they needed to get up because he was getting ready to "hose it off," to which the patrons hurriedly replied, "Oh ok, we were leaving anyway." This store needs to understand that, although it may be okay to lock their door at 9:00 PM, anyone who has purchased ice cream before 9:00 PM should be made to feel WELCOME to enjoy it for the few minutes it will take to eat it on the premises before it melts. The poor customer service was like nothing I've ever seen before, and I've visited many a summer ice cream shop. To top it off, we were visiting Roanoke (which we do multiple times every year), and it certainly did not leave a good taste in the mouth of a visitor. Doubtful we will...

Heard from family that this place was good.

I am a huge fan of ice cream and this Blue Cow did not disappoint. I got a salted caramel single scoop in a cone and it’s quite a bit of ice cream. I had no trouble finishing it of course!

There is no where to sit and eat inside so we sat outside. It was a little warm so we had to eat our ice cream more quickly before it melted but it was still good.

If I had heard about the flight before I ordered I probably would have gotten the flight so we could try a few types (I was with my husband and 2 girls).

PS. Kind of ironic it’s next to a density right? Remember to brush your teeth after your ice cream or you may need to come back for some cavities later!

Edit/addition 08/29/2022

Stopped by again and got the flight this time. (I remembered from last time that it would be a good idea to get since that gives the girls more flavors to try.)

The only problem with the flight is they don’t have mini waffle cones to put the ice cream in. Maybe they could make little waffle bowls or something to put the ice cream in? That would make it even better!

We got the banana pudding, sea salt caramel, peanut butter fudge ripple and cookies n’ cream. ...