Pam’s Sugar Shack
217 W. Main StreetThe start of summer.
J and I both had long weekends so we headed to J’s parents house on the lake near Centreville. We typically go through Mendon on our way down instead of Three Rivers just because it’s the way we’ve always gone.
Last fall, we noticed a new ice cream place opened up in Mendon. We never got to it before it closed for the winter.
We had to make a trip back to Kalamazoo on Sunday because the kids had to skate. Sure, we could have stayed home, but we decided to go back to the lake. Everyone is more relaxed at Nana and Grandpa’s and we all really needed a weekend of relaxing.
On the way back through Mendon, we saw the open signs for the ice cream place in Mendon. We weren’t going to get ice cream then because we hadn’t eaten dinner yet but I said if it was open when we came back through on Monday, we’d stop.
It was open on Monday.
Pam’s Sugar Shack is on West Main Street near Portage Street on the west side of Mendon’s downtown area. The small brick building used to be the Bluebird Cafe but has been empty for a while now. It sits right next to Main Street Smokehouse backing up to the St. Joseph River. There is some parking along the side of the building but we just pulled in to the Outdoor Market across the street.
I was stopped in my tracks right as we were about to walk in the door. Thankfully, there’s a sign right on the door so we weren’t left in an awkward situation. Cash only. And there’s not ATM anywhere close. You’d have to go down to the gas station to find one. We went back outside and started to see how much cash we had on us. Between J and I we had $22 so we headed back in. But that could have been bad if they didn’t advertise that fact in several spots in and on the building.
The shop is cute. It’s not much different than any other seasonal ice cream place in Michigan. There’s a large counter filled with tubs on ice cream.
The ice cream looks like most, if not all of it, is from Ashby’s. Their Facebook page says they have Hudsonville too but I didn’t look very closely. I just noticed a lot of Ashby’s signs.
There’s quite a bit of space to sit an eat your ice cream in the store. They have some metal frame wood tables and chairs. They’re not the most comfortable but you’re not supposed to sit there very long. There were a few other families in the shop for ice cream when we were there so we didn’t feel too rushed once we sat down to eat.
There’s also a really nice public spot between the ice cream shop and the BBQ joint overlooking the St. Joseph River. It was a pretty nice day out so I’m a little surprised we didn’t sit out there.
J and the kids all got single scoops of ice cream. I wasn’t really in the mood for anything and I figured I’d help everyone else finish theirs so I didn’t order anything. The cost for three single scoops was $12, which again, you have to pay in cash.
B did something new and ordered Bubblegum. He usually does Superman so this took everyone by surprise. The ice cream was bright pink with chunks of actual bubblegum in it. He said tasted just like bubblegum. I’m sure it’s just because he’s a kid but he is the most frustrating to watch ice cream eater so I tried not to. He offered me some of his but bubble gum ice cream didn’t sound appetizing to me. He loved it though.
L is not nearly as frustrating to watch of an ice cream eater as B so we let her get a cone. She got Birthday Cake. This ice cream is white cake flavored ice cream with yellow cake pieces, a blue vanilla frosting swirl and rainbow sprinkles. She shared with J but didn’t share any with me. It looked tasty though and she ate her cone in about half the time it took B to finish his cup.
J ordered Sea Turtle. The ice cream is sea salt caramel with a salty caramel swirl and chocolate caramel turtles. She shared quite a bit of this with me. I don’t think she wanted the whole thing and I didn’t really want a whole one either so this worked out great. I wouldn’t have picked this ice cream on my own but it was pretty tasty. The sea salt and caramel mix is always going to be a winner.
Pam’s Sugar Shack is the kind of summertime ice cream shop all small towns need. Ice cream is usually a spur of the moment thing for us so we’ll just have to remember to keep some cash in our wallets if we’re thinking about stopping for ice cream on our way home from the lake.
SW Michigan Dining 