Riley Choi ’28
Sep 26, 2025
The Irwin House Ice Cream Shoppe has officially opened its doors, bringing fun and excitement to town. Located in the space once occupied by One North, the shop has already attracted eager students.
Owner Melissa Langford’s goal was simple. “Because ice cream makes people happy, and I wanted to serve the community and serve happiness, honestly,” she said. The shop's bright interior, with tables and chairs painted to look like sprinkles, reflects this mission. “The walls used to be brown and black inside; the bright paint made it look a lot better,” she added.
Langford sources her product from The Chocolate Ice Cream Shop, a Wisconsin brand that uses dairy from a single, family farm, Sassy Cow Creamery. “They sent us like 10 pints of ice cream and every flavor was delicious, so that’s just really what I wanted, something that was really, really good on its own,” said Langford.
Bruce Zhang '28 was impressed after trying the flavor, “This $&@! Just Got Serious.” Sheily Ramirez ‘28 reported, “The flavor I got was caramel apple pie and raspberry fassetti, the texture and consistency of the ice cream is really nice.”
Sophie Oh ‘26 said, “It provides another space for students to go and hang out with their friends who aren't on campus, so it feels a little bit more like you're going somewhere to hang out. Maybe it’ll become the new One North.” Zhang '28 echoed a similar sentiment, saying, “It's a plus, because it tastes good while being convenient since it's close to school and is inexpensive.”
Irwin House's offerings change weekly, with new flavors rotating in and out. Langford keeps two of the most popular flavors, “Yippee Skippy” and “Brownie Cascade,” to ensure favorites are always available. “You can taste the actual ingredients. It's not artificially made,” Langford said.
Some students noted room for improvement. Ramirez '28 described the decor as “kind of empty” and even “creepy.” She suggested, “If they added more furniture, like some plants, had some music, and added more lights, it would be really nice.” Zhang ‘28 added, “They could definitely market it a bit more because I didn’t even know there was an ice cream shop until somebody told me there was.” Ramirez ‘28 proposed that the shop could become “a dessert shop and not just ice cream,” to add more variety.
Despite possible improvements, students remain enthusiastic. “I've already gone five times. I love the ice cream," Oh ‘26 admitted.