Ice Cream Social
Temporada 1
por David Boyer
Takeaways Jupiter Moon is completely nut-free — no tree nuts, no peanuts — and David Boyer made that call partly because he has a tree nut allergy himself. The decision he didn't fully anticipate was how many families it would free up: people who couldn't walk into a Twins game, couldn't walk into most ice cream shops, now have somewhere they can go without fear. Jupiter Moon started in a rented kitchen in Sauk Rapids, selling hand-packed cups from an ice cream bicycle at art fairs. David chose the bicycle not because he needed a bike, but because it was cute as all get out and fit the "rolling bubble of joy" experience he was trying to create. Today the shop makes around 15,000 gallons a month in the summer. A second Jupiter Moon location is coming to St. Anthony Park in St. Paul — a small space that used to be a tearoom, with a kitchen already in place and a neighborhood that fits the community-first model David has always built around. In the third and final installment of this conversation on The Ice Cream Social, host David Boyer and Liz Fiedler Mergen of Sunny Mary Meadow dig into the side of Jupiter Moon that most customers never see — and a few pieces of news that listeners might want to pay attention to. The episode opens with a look at what's coming next in the Jupiter Moon scoop case: a raspberry with chocolate flakes, a potential return of the white chocolate beta from last year, a banana cream pie that would actually work beautifully in oat milk (oat milk already has a graham-like flavor going for it, which Liz may or may not react to on camera), and the ongoing development of the Rainbow Nerds Space Rox flavor from the last episode. There are also early conversations happening about a flower ice cream made with freeze-dried edible petals from Sunny Mary Meadow. Nothing is confirmed, but the rose flavoring is in the building. From there, David explains what makes Jupiter Moon genuinely rare in the ice cream world: it is completely nut-free. No tree nuts, no peanut butter, no peanut ice cream. The decision started with David's own tree nut allergy — he wasn't going to make ice cream he couldn't eat — and a choice not to do peanuts either so customers wouldn't have to keep track of which category applied to them. What he didn't expect was the size of the community that decision would create. Liz shares a story about a physician friend whose college-age son has a tree nut allergy; Jupiter Moon is one of the only places the whole family can just go. People who couldn't walk into a Twins game without anxiety have a shop now. The origin story of Jupiter Moon comes up for the first time: the name came from friends at NASA who worked on a probe that has been circling Jupiter since 2016, discovering somewhere around 100 moons. David's crew has been assured that one of those moons is made of ice cream. That settled it. From there, he rented a kitchen by the hour from a gluten-free bakery in Sauk Rapids, made ice cream in the evenings, hand-packed the cups, and sold them out of an ice cream bicycle at Summertime by George and local art fairs. He chose the bicycle purely because it was, in his words, cute as all get out — and because the form factor fit the "rolling bubble of joy" experience he was already trying to design. His background is in UX: user experience design and front-end development. The psychology of how people interact with spaces has always shaped how he thinks about the shop. https://www.jupitermoonicecream.com/
Takeaways The most intentional business decisions sometimes look accidental from the outside. Liz schedules her Friday farm tours at 1:00 PM specifically so visitors are hungry for lunch before and primed for ice cream after — she's building traffic to her neighbors on purpose. "Deeper, not wider" is the customer strategy behind Sunny Mary Meadow. Liz turns flower subscribers into wedding clients, wedding clients into Bloom Room renters, and Bloom Room couples into lifelong regulars who bring their baby showers back to the farm. Building a business that matters means being willing to share the hardest parts of your story. Liz was widowed in 2020, had 300 Instagram followers, and kept showing up in her stories every single day anyway — and by the end of that summer, she had 700. The community showed up because she did. Summary of the Episode In Part 2 of this multi-part conversation on The Ice Cream Social, host David Boyer continues his sit-down with Liz Fiedler Mergen, owner of Sunny Mary Meadow Flower Farm, inside Jupiter Moon Ice Cream. The episode opens with what a summer looks like when you live in a town with two ice cream shops and a husband who grew up on a dairy farm: you help them both out. You go twice a week. You do what you have to do. From there, the conversation moves into what Liz has built at Sunny Mary Meadow, which started as a cut flower farm north of St. Joseph and has evolved into something considerably bigger: a farm store, an on-farm event venue called the Bloom Room, and a thriving wedding florals business she never planned to be in. The Bloom Room is now booked 10 to 12 times a month when Liz originally planned for four to six. A third of those bookings are showers, a third are corporate events, and a third is everything else — retirement parties, anniversary dinners, the stuff that doesn't fit a clean category but fills a real need. David shares the moment that stopped him cold at a hockey game last year: eavesdropping on a family who didn't know he owned Jupiter Moon, talking about how that place had been part of their love story and would be part of their wedding. He turned around and introduced himself. Liz knows exactly what that moment feels like, because her business runs on the same current — people who've been Sunny Mary Meadow flower subscribers for four years who don't ask whether she does their daughter's wedding, they just inform her that she is. The Bloom Room, by design, is an everything-but-wedding venue. Liz explains exactly why: a 60-person wedding sounds simple until you count the emails. She's built a half-day rental model that works precisely because she's drawn a clear line. But book your wedding flowers through her and you get a discount on your bridal shower at the farm. Come for the shower and you start thinking about the rehearsal dinner. Have the rehearsal dinner and you'll be back for the baby shower. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a flower subscription and a lifetime of reasons to return. https://www.jupitermoonicecream.com/
Takeaways Making ice cream at Jupiter Moon is a three-day process with three distinct steps: mixing the base, running it through the batch freezer, and hardening it in a super-cold cabinet that reaches negative 20 degrees. The difference between smooth, creamy ice cream and icy, grainy ice cream comes down to temperature: anything above negative 10 degrees during the hardening phase will cause ice crystals to form. New flavors go through a beta testing process that often starts in a two-pint test machine before committing to a full six-gallon batch, because sometimes you make a stinker and you need to catch it early. Summary of the Episode In this first installment of a multi-part conversation on The Ice Cream Social, host David Boyer sits down with Dr. Liz Fiedler Mergen, owner of Sunny Mary Meadow Flower Farm, for a conversation that starts exactly where every good conversation should: childhood ice cream memories. Liz grew up in Southwest Minnesota with a soft serve machine that dispensed something called Blue Goo, a birthday-cake-flavored swirl with color ribboned right through it. David's gateway to greatness came via cookie dough Blizzards at whatever Dairy Queen was half an hour away from whatever away game the school bus had stopped at. It's that kind of show. From there, the episode gets into what's actually happening in the Jupiter Moon kitchen. David breaks down the three-day process it takes to make a batch of ice cream: mixing the all-natural base that comes from about 60 regional farms, running it through the batch freezer in six-gallon increments, and then placing it in a hardening cabinet at negative 20 degrees for eight to nine hours. That last step, the hardening, is the make-or-break moment. Get above negative 10 degrees at any point in the process, and ice crystals form. The result is icy, grainy ice cream. The hardening cabinets that prevent this cost about $15,000 each. Jupiter Moon has two of them. There's also a new flavor in development: a Rainbow Nerds ice cream that the team is considering calling "Space Rox" for the St. Cloud Rox baseball partnership. And David shares one of his all-time favorite flavors he's created: a Mexican street corn ice cream with lime and pepper that nobody wanted to buy and he loved completely. That one remains a personal victory. A lime cotija is also on the way. Key Topics Covered Childhood ice cream favorites: Blue Goo soft serve, cookie dough Blizzards, and the discovery that some communities just don't have a Dairy Queen The three-day ice cream making process at Jupiter Moon and why each step matters Why temperature control during hardening is the single biggest factor in ice cream quality Hardening cabinets: what they are, why they cost $15,000, and what would happen without them Jupiter Moon's all-natural base mix sourced from approximately 60 regional farms with no artificial flavors or colorings Beta testing new flavors with a two-pint test machine before committing to a full six-gallon batch The new Rainbow Nerds ice cream in development, potentially named "Space Rox" for the Rox baseball partnership The Husky Power Play flavor: chocolate cherry in red and black for St. Cloud State hockey Mexican street corn ice cream: David's personal favorite that nobody would buy Lime cotija: a fan-favorite cheese ice cream coming back soon https://www.jupitermoonicecream.com/
Takeaways Jupiter Moon Ice Cream uses entirely natural ingredients for all flavors and colors in its base ice cream, including spirulina, turmeric, beet extract, and annatto, with a small-business supplier in Illinois that collaborates with the team weekly. The shop has deep roots in the local small business community, with partnerships that include Crew restaurant, Backwards Bread, Bad Habit Brewing, and Red Headed Creamery. A third Jupiter Moon location is opening in St. Paul's St. Anthony Park neighborhood at Milton Square, with a target of being open by July 4th. In this episode of The Ice Cream Social, host David Boyer sits down with Alex Smith for a wide-ranging conversation about what actually goes into making Jupiter Moon ice cream as good as it is. From St. John's University maple syrup to the spirulina that gives the blue raspberry sorbet its color, David pulls back the curtain on the surprisingly complex and intentional ingredient decisions behind every scoop. He explains why natural coloring matters, how the team works with a small family-run business in Illinois to source the right pigments, and why Lucky Charm marshmallows in Saturday Morning Cartoons are the one area where things get complicated. The episode digs into the small business partnerships that make Jupiter Moon more than just an ice cream shop. Crew restaurant features Jupiter Moon vanilla alongside their bread pudding. Backwards Bread stocks their freezer. Bad Habit Brewing supplies the root beer for floats, and the dream of a chocolate stout ice cream is very much alive. Out at Brewton Farm, the annual Curd Fest partnership with Red Headed Creamery is back this year, and Jupiter Moon is bringing the lime cotija — a cotija-and-sugar crumble creation that David says inexplicably tastes like cake. David also previews a huge summer ahead, including two big concert events at Minnesota Yacht Club and Minnesota Country Club, the annual Fourth of July parade ride, and the return of the Star Spangled Cake Batter flavor. The Munsinger Clemens Garden location in St. Cloud gets some well-deserved love, including a quick Italian lesson: affogato means "drowned," as in espresso poured right over the ice cream. The biggest news of the episode? Jupiter Moon is opening a third location in St. Paul, in the Milton Square neighborhood of St. Anthony Park, about a mile from the State Fairgrounds. The community surrounding it, including Nico's Tacos, the Finnish Bakery, and the newly opened woman-owned Acorn Bookstore, is exactly the kind of place Jupiter Moon belongs. David is hoping the doors open by July 4th. Key Topics Covered How Jupiter Moon uses natural colorings including spirulina, turmeric, purple beet extract, and annatto The Illinois small business partnership behind their natural color and flavor sourcing Local collaborations with Crew, Backwards Bread, Bad Habit Brewing, and Red Headed Creamery Cheese ice creams: lime cotija and brie, plus the craft challenges behind each The Munsinger Clemens Garden location in St. Cloud and what makes it special A new Jupiter Moon location opening in St. Anthony Park, St. Paul at Milton Square Summer events including Curd Fest (June 20), Minnesota Yacht Club, and Fourth of July parade The Star Spangled Cake Batter seasonal flavor returning for summer What affogato actually means (and why you should order one) https://www.jupitermoonicecream.com/
Takeaways Why texture matters more in ice cream than most people realize The science behind overrun, freezing speed, and creamy texture How community shapes flavor creation at Jupiter Moon Ice Cream Summary of the Episode In Part 2 of this series, David Boyer and Alex Smith dive into the memories, science, and community connections that make ice cream special. From childhood ice cream stories to the surprisingly technical process behind creating premium ice cream, this episode explores how texture, ingredients, and local culture influence every scoop. They also discuss the origins behind Jupiter Moon favorites and why community remains central to everything they create. Key Topics Covered: Childhood ice cream memories and memorable flavor experiences Why texture can make or break an ice cream flavor The science behind freezing ice cream quickly Understanding overrun and why air matters in ice cream Differences between American hard pack, gelato, and sorbet How local community influences flavor creation The stories behind Straw Benny and Johnny Maple flavors Why building joyful experiences matters in business https://www.jupitermoonicecream.com/
Takeaways Why opening an ice cream business during COVID unexpectedly created opportunities How first-time managers build trust while leading new teams The behind-the-scenes story of turning an ice cream hobby into a growing business In Part 1 of this special three-part series, David sits down with Jupiter Moon Ice Cream St. Joe manager Alex Smith to talk about ice cream, community, entrepreneurship, and summer memories. They discuss Alex's transition into management, favorite ice cream flavors, funny customer stories, and the surprising journey that transformed Jupiter Moon from an ice cream bicycle into a thriving local business. From failed sorbet experiments to opening during a pandemic, this episode explores what happens when passion, community, and a lot of ice cream come together. Key Topics Covered: Managing a growing seasonal staff Favorite Jupiter Moon flavors The origin story of Jupiter Moon Ice Cream Starting a business during COVID First-time leadership lessons Funny ice cream shop memories Why community matters in local business https://www.jupitermoonicecream.com/
It's finally here. Ice Cream Social is officially open for business, and we're so glad you pulled up a seat. Hosted by David Boyer, owner of Jupiter Moon Ice Cream, this podcast is all about the place where ice cream and community meet. Spoiler: it's a really good place to be. In this short trailer, David shares what to expect from the show: conversations about what makes ice cream great, the memories wrapped up in a single scoop, the people behind the cone, and the stories that always come with a smile attached. This summer is a big one for Jupiter Moon. Two shops running strong, a third in the works, a packed mobile event calendar with weddings and festivals, and a few surprises David can't quite share yet. You'll want to be subscribed when those drop. Subscribe so you never miss an episode. Leave a five-star review if this sounds like your kind of show. It helps more ice cream lovers find us. Share it with someone who gets unreasonably excited about a good scoop. That's the scoop. See you next episode.https://www.jupitermoonicecream.com/