Enterprise creamery Milky Moo’s named one of Alabama’s best

In downtown Enterprise, where community events and seasonal festivals bring people together year-round, Milky Moo’s Deli & Creamery has become a beloved part of daily life. That strong community connection is one reason it was recently named Best Ice Cream Parlor in Alabama in the Best of Alabama Awards by the Guide to Alabama. Owners Elizabeth and Adam Shanks have poured their heart into the shop, blending hometown pride with a flair for creative, crowd-pleasing flavors.

The win was a surprise to the couple. “We were shocked when we found out we were nominated,” Elizabeth Shanks says. “It’s all done by public vote, and we had no idea until we got an email.”

The Shankses are no strangers to small business in Enterprise. Before purchasing Milky Moo’s in May 2023, the couple founded Alabama Pecan Company in 2017, a business that has since grown into a full retail and restaurant space downtown. Their deep investment in the area and its people has only strengthened their commitment to revitalizing local landmarks like Milky Moo’s.

“When we bought Milky Moo’s, we wanted to honor its legacy while making it our own,” Shanks says. “Any time a business changes hands, there’s a period of transition, and that’s taken time. In September, we shut down for two weeks and did a full renovation of all the customer-facing areas.”

Those changes refreshed the space while continuing the shop’s legacy. “It had been around for 18 years. Over time, we’ve developed our own recipes, but we’ve kept the same base recipe. It’s important to honor what made this place special.”

Community is central to the shop’s story — and to its menu. “Downtown Enterprise really is something special,” Shanks says. “There’s always something happening — festivals, markets and different themed nights. It keeps the community lively and gives us so many chances to connect with our customers.”

That connection is scooped into every flavor. “We love tying our flavors to local stories,” she says. One of their signatures is the Boll Weevil ice cream — a peanut butter base with crushed Oreos for soil, marshmallows for cotton, and peanuts, all nodding to the region’s agricultural past and the boll weevil’s historic impact on the cotton crop.

Milky Moo’s balances that sense of place with plenty of playful creativity. “We always have seven classic ice cream flavors, then we rotate eight other creative flavors,” Shanks says. Along with sandwiches, salads and other lunch items, the restaurant also rotates specialty cheesecake flavors. The owners say the best way to see what’s new is by checking Milky Moo’s social media pages, which they update often.

With a constantly rotating selection, ice cream enthusiasts can expect everything from timeless classics to inventive, one-of-a-kind creations, like Irish Cream for St. Patrick’s Day, a Grinch ice cream for Christmas or the Fluffy Cow, a coffee shake inspired by a beachy Cape Cod drink.

“The creativity is one of the best parts of this job,” Shanks says. “The world is your canvas — and with ice cream, it’s just so much fun.”

This story originally appeared on the Soul-Grown website.