Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream will bring coffee, cocktails and, of course, ice cream to The Grove next year

A popular St. Louis-area ice cream shop is expanding.

As first reported by St. Louis Magazine, Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream, which first opened in Webster Groves, Missouri, in 2003, plans to open a new location at 4400 Manchester Ave. in The Grove. The new scoop shop will be located on the ground floor of Gateway Lofts, right across the street from Urban Chestnut’s Grove Bierhall.

Owner Beckie Jacobs says she’s always loved The Grove neighborhood, where several of her friends live, adding that her new landlords, Amy and Amrit Gill of Restoration St. Louis, made the decision even easier. “The Grove is just a really awesome, happening neighborhood,” she says. “I have a lot of friends who have restaurants and bars there, and I’m looking forward to being their neighbor/colleague. I’m really looking forward to being down there.”

The 2,200-square-foot space is larger than the original store, so Jacobs plans to move all production out of Webster to The Grove. The new space also inspired some menu changes; since the new location shares a building with apartment units, Jacobs is planning on a “coffee to cocktails” approach. “We’ll open a little earlier so that our neighbors upstairs can come get a cup of coffee before they head out on their way,” she says. “I’m not trying to be Starbucks, but I figured we’d offer something to our neighbors that they don’t currently have.”

By night, Serendipity will expand on its menu of Spirited Shakes in flavors such as Grasshopper and Brandy Alexander with a small, well-curated cocktail menu. “Consider us the ‘I’m done but I’m not ready to go home’ place,” Jacobs says. “If the demand is there, I anticipate offering a couple – three at most – late-night [snacks.] A cheese plate, hummus and veggies, that sort of thing.”

Jacobs stresses that Serendipity is still, at its core, an ice cream shop, and guests can expect to see all the ice cream, sundaes and housemade ice cream sandwiches they know and love. The larger space will also allow her to expand the ice cream offerings to include more flavors in the case.

Look for Serendipity to open its doors in The Grove sometime within the first quarter of 2022.

Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream, 4400 Manchester Ave., The Grove, St. Louis, Missouri, serendipity-icecream.com

https://www.feastmagazine.com/st-louis/article_9185f610-1714-11ec-ae36-533d21adcb0d.html