Popular Cannelton, Indiana Drive In Unveils Its First Ever Homemade Ice Cream

This news will definitely have you screaming for ice cream.  Actually, it's going to have you screaming for brand new homemade ice cream from Walls'. The popular Cannelton, Indiana drive in restaurant just churned out its first-ever homemade ice cream flavor and it was an instant and massive hit!

Over the weekend, I had the chance to chat with Whitney Harlen. Whitney and her husband Dillon purchased the building and business from Whitney's parents back in 2020.

They took advantage of the COVID-19 shutdown to completely remodel the restaurant.  They reopened for business in June that year.

Of course, Whitney has spent much of her life inside the walls of Walls'.  Her great grandfather originally owned the drive in and opened it back in 1964. Whitney says, "I spent many hours there as a kid growing up and working there all through high school."

Whitney says she always dreamed of carrying on the family legacy and keeping the restaurant open. She's doing that and is now, in her own way, reinventing the long-standing family business.

Just last week, Walls' Drive In rolled out its very first homemade ice cream flavor.

That is Blue Cookie Monster Ice Cream!  It's "vanilla based ice cream, loaded with Oreos and chocolate chip cookies!" And its creation was basically the result of supply and demand. Whitney says it's a flavor she'd been trying to get from her distributors since they reopened walls a couple of years ago.  She wasn't having any luck, so she decided to try and make it herself.

Whitney went to work in the kitchen and tried out a few different recipes.  She would make a small batch to see how it would turn out.  And, finally, she nailed it!  She says, "Surprisingly, for making it all by hand, literally using a small mixer stand and basic ingredients, it has turned out amazing!"

And she's right! There's no doubt it became a customer favorite quickly. According to Whitney, "We sold out in the first day after posting it on Facebook."  This past Saturday night, she and her husband were at Walls' until midnight making another batch.  They were trying to make enough to get them through the rest of the weekend.

Whitney admits, "Cookie Monster so far has taken off way more than I expected." And its success may eventually lead to more new creations. Whitney's already thinking about adding more homemade flavors. But before she does that, she's focused on perfecting her system of making them.  She says, "Right now the biggest issue is just how time consuming it is making such a large amount at one time."

In addition to having homemade Blue Cookie Monster ice cream, Walls' Drive In is home to a variety of hand-dipped flavors, shakes, sundaes and more.

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