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GRAND MARAIS — There's no shortage of ice cream options as you head up the North Shore. Last year, Superior Creamery joined three other ice cream providers within the small harbor town of 1,340 people, including Gunflint Mercantile, Sydney's Frozen Custard and Dairy Queen. Superior Creamery, 7 N.
Broadway Ave., Grand Marais, opened in 2022. Contributed / Superior Creamery "Everybody offers something a little different, and our little niche is developing our own recipes and creating ice cream handcrafted on site pretty much every day," said co-owner Alexander Beebe-Giudice. According to Beebe-Giudice, the hospitality industry of the area desperately needed another restaurant to help accommodate the large seasonal crowds. Crafting an experience Inspired by creameries in Duluth and the Twin Cities, he and his partner, Christine Sayler, set out to create a similar concept in the popular northern Minnesota destination. ADVERTISEMENT "Ice cream is something people enjoy on vacation.
Many times, folks that travel up here come visit us every day that they're in town, which is really cool," Beebe-Giudice said. If foot traffic is any indicator, Superior Creamery fared well this year, according to the owners. "People love their ice cream in Minnesota, for sure," Beebe-Giudice said. The Grand Marais Lighthouse on Artist Point in June 2016.
Brielle Bredsten / Duluth News Tribune A cold scoop (or two) is especially enjoyable while strolling along Artist Point on the way to see the Grand Marais Lighthouse, as a reward following a chilly dip in Lake Superior or perhaps after a long bike ride along the trails, Sayler said. Meet the owners Originally from St.
Petersburg, Florida, Sayler had moved to Juneau, Alaska, on a whim in 2014. Superior Creamery owners Alexander Beebe-Giudice and Christine Sayler at their ice cream and eatery they opened in 2022 in Grand Marais. Contributed / Superior Creamery During that first summer, she worked at a helicopter base with regular flights to an ice field.
This is where she met Beebe-Giudice, who operated a seasonal sled dog tour camp there. The rest is history. "We're madly in love. We're life partners and we've been together for many years," Beebe-Giudice said. Having grown up in Maryland, Beebe-Giudice first came to Minnesota and worked in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness during college.
In 2005, he began working with a local musher, later moving to Alaska to train and race sled dogs year-round. ADVERTISEMENT The couple decided to return to Grand Marais in April 2022 to start their business and be closer to their families. Breathing new life into an old building Their new creamery and eatery is located within a century-old building at 7 N.
Broadway Ave. They currently lease the property from Superior North LLC, with hopes to purchase it in the future, Beebe-Giudice said. In years past, it was the site of a bakery, hardware store, restaurant, and was the former home of the Cook County News Herald. Over the first month in business, the couple worked to renovate the dining area and bathrooms, along with stripping the exterior plywood. "We brought it down to the original brick, did some painting, but it was primarily cosmetic work inside and outside," Beebe-Giudice said. Updates were made to the outdoor patio seating at Superior Creamery, located at 7 N.
Broadway Ave., Grand Marais. Contributed / Superior Creamery With a commercial kitchen already on site, a service counter was built and appliances were installed. This year, the patio received updates and the service area expanded. Beebe-Giudice added, "It's a section of the street that has been pretty quiet for the past 20 years, but when we opened up last year we were one of two new businesses." The Sweetwater Co.
— a clothing boutique retailer with upper-level vacation rentals — opened across from the creamery in 2022. ADVERTISEMENT It takes a community The businesses of downtown Grand Marais continue to recuperate following devastating fires in recent years. After the massive blaze involving three businesses along Wisconsin Street on April 13, 2020, the small tourist town suffered further loss when Sydney's Frozen Custard & Wood-Fired Pizza burned down on April 10, 2023. Some of those businesses have since adapted.
The Crooked Spoon continued on as a food truck, and the owners of White Pine gift store transitioned into purchasing the Ben Franklin store. Sydney's reopened in its new downtown location across the street. "Regardless of the disasters that have occurred, most recently Sydney's, have shown that they can recuperate and the larger community has been really supportive in that," Beebe-Giudice said. Serving up small batch ice cream Aside from a few growing pains, the couple learned a lot during their first year in business. "Just developing our recipes was quite challenging — flavors, textures, storage and serving temperatures, and trying to make our different flavors appeal to as many people as possible," Beebe-Giudice said. The matcha flavor at Superior Creamery in Grand Marais.
Contributed / Superior Creamery The couple spent many late nights cranking out small batches and giving samples to friends in return for feedback. "We didn't have any formal training with ice cream making whatsoever. We just knew we liked it, and we knew that with the right ingredients and the right equipment we can produce a really great product," Beebe-Giudice said. ADVERTISEMENT There are eight flavors to choose from in the dipping case at Superior Creamery in Grand Marais.
Contributed / Superior Creamery Superior Creamery opened on June 6, 2022, offering eight classic ice cream flavors, in addition to a dairy-free option. "Our non-dairy lemon sorbet is one of the best in the land," Beebe-Giudice said. "It's kind of zest-heavy, balanced tartness/sweetness. Lemon sorbet has a real nice, smooth mouth feel and is really refreshing on a hot summer day." Classics like vanilla offer a simple delight. "We also make a really nice peanut butter base that we fold different things into," Sayler said.
"Any of the peanut butter ones would probably be my favorite." Another popular choice is the Salted Honey Bee ice cream made with wildflower honey. There's also coffee varieties, mixed with chocolate chips, cookie crumbles or cinnamon. The dairy base for Superior Creamery's hand-made ice cream is sourced from Autumnwood Farm in Forest Lake, Minnesota. "It's really important to us to keep as much of our business local and regional as possible," Beebe-Giudice said. The creamery recently partnered with Lutsen-based Fika Coffee and will begin offering basic espresso services by late September. ADVERTISEMENT A fresh menu A small food menu is also available. Bowls are on the menu at Superior Creamery, located at 7 N.
Broadway Ave., Grand Marais. Contributed / Superior Creamery "We are really fortunate in the summer to have a connection with the local farm here called Good Nature Farm, and they provide us with all of our greens, tomatoes and produce for our menu in the summer," Beebe-Giudice said. The steak sandwich is the most popular menu item at Superior Creamery in Grand Marias.
Contributed / Superior Creamery The selections were carefully curated from all their favorites, including salads and bowls for the lunch crowd. French fries are fresh cut daily. "We're probably known most for our steak sandwich. Everyone loves it," Sayler said. "A close second would probably be the cilantro-lime shrimp.
They're also very tasty." Hours & operation Pan Fried Noodles are on the menu at Superior Creamery, located at 7 N. Broadway Ave., Grand Marais. Contributed / Superior Creamery The family-style restaurant operates mainly during the daytime, serving lunch until 4 p.m. As a semi-seasonal shop, it is open from May to October.
Winter hours will resume in January, likely to be open up to three days a week. "Not on the same scale as summer, but people still love to eat ice cream in the wintertime," Sayler said. "We sell more ice cream than food in the winter." READ MORE This story originally contained a misspelling of Alexander Beebe-Giudice's name.
It was updated at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 7 with the proper spelling. It was originally posted at 2:20 p.m. The News Tribune regrets the error.
