WAUWATOSA, Wis. — In September, Wauwatosa's City Plan Commission approved a new business proposal, according to our partners at OnMilwaukee.
The plan was to transform a nearly 100-year-old gas station into a seasonal ice cream shop. Liz Joy bought the building at the end of July.
On Saturday, you can stop by Joy Ice Cream Social from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for free ice cream samples, face painting, games, as well as beer and coffee samples.
Joy is doing what others have been unable to do. Others have tried to open a food business in the old gas station but received neighborhood opposition.
Joy has been successful because she has taken neighborhood concerns into consideration. The main concerns are traffic and parking, in which she emphasized that she expects most of the shop's traffic to be via bike or foot from nearby, OnMilwaukee reports.
The new shop's design plans were drawn by her husband, Tom Joy, an architect with Engberg Anderson. The shop's building is just over 600 square feet of indoor space with about 500 square feet of patio outside. The design drawings show the large patio that will accommodate customer seating, a walk-up ordering window, and bike racks to make the shop even more accessible to those on bikes, according to OnMilwaukee.
The Joy's were inspired by the pocket park next to Rocket Baby and Cranky Al's. They wanted to create an inviting pedestrian flow from the sidewalk that will allow the public to visit the shop easily as well as gather with others.
Joy plans for the shop's menu to include ice cream from the Madison-based Chocolate Shoppe, coffee, lemonade, iced tea, charcuterie boxes for all ages, after-school snacks, as well as adult beverages.
Another interesting aspect of the store is that Joy plans to have work from local artists for sale.
The current goal is for a spring 2023 opening date.
Updates for the gas station's transformation into this innovative new shop will be posted on the Joy Ice Cream Social Instagram page.
Joy Ice Cream Social is located at 8334 W. North Ave, in Wauwatosa.
