GRAND RAPIDS — Steve and Kate Hanke began Borealis Creamery in the spring of 2022. The Grand Rapids food truck showcases handmade ice cream with local ingredients. Just over a year later, they are popping up at northern Minn. events with varied and sometimes customized flavors.
"We see a lot of smiling customers and then we see a lot of kids with chocolate all over their face."Steve Hanke
The Hanke’s joined Heidi Holtan and Jennifer Barr on The Morning Show on KAXE. When asked why they made ice cream their business, Steve said, “It’s a happy thing, right? It’s ice cream.”
“So, overall, you know, we see a lot of smiling customers and then we see a lot of kids with chocolate all over their face,” he said.
ICE CREAM IN THEIR ROOTS
"I grew up in a family where ice cream was like almost an idol to worship,” Kate said, remembering trips through Ohio with her grandparents to visit different creameries. Her memories include The Velvet Ice Cream Factory where she got to see how the ice cream was made.
“So I definitely grew up with an incredible love for ice cream,” she said.
Meanwhile, Steve’s grandfather was running a dairy in Iowa and owned a Dairy Queen franchise. His family also made ice cream at home, with a hand-crank ice cream machine.
“The rule always was that the youngest kids had to crank. And if you didn't crank, you didn't get ice cream,” Steve said.
ICE CREAM FROM SCRATCH
Just about everything that goes into the ice cream the Borealis makes is from scratch. Kate makes it all, from hot fudge to marshmallow whip to snickerdoodles and brownies.
The milk comes from Johnston’s Riverview Farm near Floodwood.
They also try to create flavors in collaboration with local farmers, including sweet corn from Clayton’s Produce.
VOTE FOR GRAND RAPIDS RIVERFEST FLAVOR
Borealis Creamery has partnered with Grand Rapids Riverfest to create a signature flavor that crowd sourced by the KAXE community.
We have narrowed flavor suggestions down to the top five for this year’s signature Grand Rapids Riverfest Flavor.
- Malt with caramel swirl and peanut butter cups
- Lavender honey with rosemary and graham cracker swirl
- Banana with Nilla Wafers and honey whip swirl
- Maple with spiced pie crust swirl
- Lemon with blueberries and pretzels
You can find where Borealis Creamery is parked here.