Olson’s Ice Cream joins campus dining options at UW-Eau Claire

Campus has welcomed local, family-run Olson’s Ice Cream to the array of campus dining options with a new ice cream parlor located in Davies Center.

“We had been brainstorming about a fun new food option to offer students, and ice cream immediately came to mind,” says Johnny Arnold of Blugold Dining.

“After meeting with and accepting proposals from several vendors, Olson’s was selected as a perfect business for this partnership. Their plan was excellent, and Dan and Jeremy Hunt are Blugold alumni.”

For Olson's Ice Cream, who have been creating locally made artisan crafted ice cream in small batches for 80 years, this partnership provides a new place and way for Blugolds and visitors to gather and enjoy a local favorite treat.

“We are so grateful and excited to partner with UWEC,” Dan Hunt says. “We look forward to creating ‘sweet memories’ with students, faculty and administration, parents and families for many years to come.”  

After initial high-volume sales of pints in the campus T-Store and subsequent record-breaking cart sales at several campus events, the decision was made to find a location for a true “ice cream parlor experience” for students and the rest of campus to enjoy.

The new shop opened on Sept. 4 and is located right next to the entrance to the Davies Center Marketplace food court. 

Kristin Fitzsimmons, director of University Centers, is very excited to see students lining up for their favorite scoops, and points to the fun of specialty campus flavors already in the works.

“It’s been really fun,” she says. “They launched the shop with a flavor just for us, called Blugold Batter. It’s yellow cake batter-flavored ice cream with blue sprinkles. They are also very interested in creating a specialty Chancellor flavor ice cream next spring, based on his favorite combo flavor.”

In addition to the new treat offerings, Blugold Dining also has made it easy for students to purchase Olson’s ice cream by using the meal plan and Diner’s Club dollars for both T-Store pints and scoops in the parlor location.