By LOIS KINDLE
Nothing’s quite like ice cream on a hot summer’s day, especially when it comes from MoTown Treats.
The semi-stationary mobile ice cream parlor is located at 208 W. Shell Point Road, Ruskin, just west of The Beach House and next door to the Authentic Island Jerk food truck. It’s gained a well-deserved reputation among customers for high quality, hand-dipped and soft-serve desserts; charming atmosphere; and super-friendly service.
Chocolate, vanilla and a combo soft-serve ice cream can be ordered in cones or cups at the MoTown Treats ice cream shop in Ruskin.
“We love MoTown Treats. It’s our favorite,” said Dori Fagan, a real estate agent with REMAX Realty in Apollo Beach. “The ice cream’s delicious. My husband wants to go there every day, and my teens go after school with their friends. It’s truly a gift to the South Shore area.”
Owned by Melinda “Mo” McMillan, the shop offers 10 different hand-dipped Yoder’s brand ice creams, including traditional flavors like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry and specialty flavors like expresso chip, cookies and cream, orange-pineapple, sea-salted caramel, mint chocolate chip and the ever-popular butter pecan.
“We’re trying to bring back classic flavors ice cream parlors used to carry,” said her husband, Tim, co-owner of MoTown Treats, who works behind the scenes (and sometimes out front). “We’re a retro-classic, fun kind of business. Nobody ever walks away unhappy. Regardless of the mood you’re in, ice cream makes everything better.”
Traditional banana splits are a blast from the past at MoTown Treats. Better be hungry if you order one of these!
Root beer and other ice cream floats are available to cool you off on a hot summer’s day at MoTown Treats in Ruskin.
The shop also carries soft-serve, vanilla, chocolate or vanilla-chocolate ice cream in cones or cups.
It additionally features a variety of ice cream-laden desserts, including brownie sundaes, banana splits, dessert nachos, floats, mini-pancakes and ice cream, milk shakes (of any flavor currently carried), floats and slushies, which vary each week. It also offers all kinds of toppings.
“We cycle out our ice cream more often to offer fresher product,” McMillan said.
MoTown Treats business hours are 2 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday. It’s closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Accepted forms of payment include cash, Venmo, Apple Pay, credit cards and debit cards.
MOTOWN TREATS PHOTOS
MoTown Treats, 208 W. Shell Point Road, Ruskin, is a semi-stationary, mobile ice cream parlor, located west of The Beach House and next door to the Authentic Island Jerk food truck.
Originally from California, McMillan met Tim 30 years ago on a blind date, while he was serving in the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton. They married shortly after, started a blended family and moved to Venice (Fla.), where they lived for 20 years before relocating to Grandville, Tennessee. Two-and-a-half years ago, they started MoTown Treats and then came to Ruskin to be near their grandkids.
The Ruskin location opened last November.
McMillan said she was a cake decorator for Publix “on and off” for 20 years.
Her husband, Tim, works in maintenance for a major company. He found the mobile trailer that is now home to Motown Treats and built the fence around the patio where it sits. The couple set up its interior, and McMillan decorated the place.
For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/3a8m4ktz/ or email motowntreats@gmail.com/. Better yet, stop by and meet Mo or Tim and grab some ice cream while you’re there.