Mayday Ice Cream will open a new handcrafted Ice Cream parlor in historic Ybor City at 1600 E 8th Avenue. The concept officially opens on March 16. Each guest will enjoy a FREE small sugar cone with a complimentary scoop of any one flavor with more than two dozen delicious flavors to choose from.
“This is our eighth Mayday location in the State of Florida,” explained Stephen DiMare, owner of Mayday Handcrafted Ice Creams and its sister-company, Hyppo Gourmet Ice Pops. “Ybor City was a natural fit because of the historic and eclectic mix of vintage shops, restaurants, and boutiques. Offering handcrafted, artisan ice cream is just an extension of all of the cool stuff already going on in that neighborhood.”
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Mayday Ice Cream brings handcrafted flavors to Historic Ybor City
The shop is named in honor of some innovative fellow Americans who served in World War II. Flying transport runs in Europe during the darkest hours the continent had ever seen, some pilots decided to make the best of a very difficult and trying situation, write the owners of Mayday.
Flying in the “Flying Fortress” they realized that the freezing temperatures at the altitudes they regularly flew through was perfect for making a precious treat so many longed for: ice cream. Though the soldiers were issued coffee and cigarettes in their rations, delicacies like ice cream were logistically very difficult to bring to the front lines and the pastry shops of Europe were closed for war-time efforts.
Mayday bringing a scoop shop to Ybor City
Pilots attached strapped buckets full of cream and sugar into the gunner pod above the loading bays, and upon landing would have a bucket full of ice cream and a reminder of home.
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The motto at this scoop shop: “At Mayday we celebrate their courage and optimism by creating ice cream that’s both authentic and innovative- we churn together the best ingredients in fun new ways and serve them up with some good old-world hospitality.”
Mayday also operates locations in St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Lakeland. Signature flavors include a dairy-free toasted coconut, a coffee and donuts flavor, blueberry toast crunch, Key lime pie, ice box lemon, mint monster, bourbon pecan, and dairy-free almond butter chocolate. A complete list of flavors is available online.
Homemade ice cream and sprinkles on the house
This is real homemade ice cream- the Mayday makes it right there for the customers. Each of their flavors has been carefully crafted with the highest quality ingredients.
“Whether it’s making ice cream, coming up with gourmet ice pop flavors for our Hyppo brand, or one of my many other creative endeavors, quality ingredients and a sense of merriment is important in everything I do,” said DiMare. “Tampa is a fun city with a young, energetic population. We know that Mayday Handcrafted Ice Creams will quickly become woven into the fabric that is Ybor City.”
Mayday even makes the sprinkles in house – they’re also on the house when you visit. Just another fun addition to this buoyant dessert hub. We highly recommend you house your scoops inside Mayday’s carefully crafted waffle cones. You may even want one for the road.
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