Still, if you would have asked Bass or Mendelson at the beginning of their relationship whether that shared passion would lead to opening their ice cream business, Sugwarwitch (7726 Virginia Avenue), they would have laughed. Neither one of them considered themselves to be aspiring small business owners because they were so focused on their academic pursuits. Instead, they saw ice cream as self-care, especially following the 2016 election when they found themselves crestfallen by the results. Bass began making ice cream sandwiches and bringing them into work as a way to get her mind off the state of the world and to spread a little joy to her coworkers. Seeing everyone's faces light up when they'd take a bite was the joy she needed.
When Bass and Mendelson both began graduate studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia a couple of years later, they started making ice cream sandwiches together and quickly found that there was strong demand for their wares. They decided to turn their operation into a bona fide business, rented out commissary space and started selling the sandwiches at local farmers markets under the name Sugarwitch. They were a sensation and garnered a loyal following beyond their expectations — so much so that when they moved to St. Louis in 2020 for Bass' job, they did not want to give up on what they saw as a burgeoning brand and wondered how they could keep that momentum going in a new city.
Through a mutual connection, Bass and Mendelson met St. Louis chef and restaurateur Ben Poremba, who offered to host Sugarwitch pop-ups in an Airstream trailer on his patio at Olio. The arrangement allowed the pair to introduce themselves to the St. Louis market while getting to know the city; when it became clear there was excitement for what they were doing, they began searching for a permanent location that would serve as both a production kitchen as well as a small retail space. Poremba tipped them off to the former Carondelet Bakery, a historic building in the Patch neighborhood that had everything they needed. At first, they thought it might be too large, but they decided to take the leap and see how things would grow.
Last April, Bass and Mendelson began doing production out of the brick and mortar Sugarwitch while renovating the retail space to their taste. They kept the vintage feel of the century-and-a-half-old building, including its mosaic penny tile floors, stained glass windows and even two old menu boards from Carondelet Bakery. Their personal touches — like a fresh coat of mint-aqua paint on the display cases and cabinetry, hot-pink decor accents and a floral mural on one of the white walls — embrace the storefront's historic vibe, giving Sugarwitch the air that it has been there forever, even though it only opened its doors to the public in November of 2021.
Sugarwitch may have only been serving guests for the past seven months, but it indeed feels like an essential part of the neighborhood — and not just because its decor has an old-timey feel. Bass and Mendelson have created a warm, welcoming space that feels downright joyful. How can the place not evoke such emotion when they are serving such outstanding treats as the Elphaba, a salted-mint-chocolate brownie stuffed with mint-chocolate-chip ice cream that hits every note you want from a chocolaty-minty treat. Sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, toasty and refreshing, it's pure frozen nostalgia.
The Ursula, too, is childhood bliss in ice cream form, consisting of a pleasantly chewy, salt-sprinkled brownie filled with rainbow-sprinkles-studded vanilla ice cream. Here, the quality of the homemade ice cream truly shines through; unlike mass produced airy versions, this has some tooth to it, which makes it stay firm while you are eating the sandwich. It's like a haute version of a Blue Bunny classic. Another hit, the Tara pairs miso brown sugar ice cream with a chocolate chip blondie for an outstanding, buttery flavor that's like a complex salted caramel.
However, Sugarwitch is not just good when it speaks to our love for classic flavors. Creative concoctions, like the Belladonna are simply dazzling; its peanut brittle shortbread is what every peanut butter cookie wants to be — a stunning canvas for refreshing pineapple cilantro sorbet. The deliciously tropical Kiki pairs mango sorbet — that actually feels like juicy ripe mangoes in frozen form, down to its shocking creaminess — with a toasted-coconut Rice-Krispie treat; while the Rainbow Brite uses a similar Rice-Krispie base but infuses it with Fruity Pebbles, then stuffs it with intensely flavorful watermelon-lime ice cream for a powerful fruit explosion.
Sugarwitch's brick-and-mortar digs have allowed Bass and Mendelson to expand their offerings beyond just ice cream sandwiches. Praise be, for it's brought us the waffle taco, a homemade take on Good Humor's Choco Taco (rest in power, dear friend) that features a taco-shaped waffle cone filled with milk chocolate and vanilla ice cream that is dipped in dark chocolate and coated in rainbow sprinkles. If pure, unadulterated joy could be embodied in something you hold in your hand, this would be it. Likewise, the Tara Marshmallow Oreo Queen Cone is a beautiful marriage between cookies and cream, a chocolate ice cream cone, and a s'more's marshmallow gooeyness, minus the smoke. If these two frozen delights call to mind the ding of an ice cream truck bell, the gently tart mulberry crisp sundae, with its streusel base, mulberry ice cream and fresh whipped cream, makes you hear the ding of the timer in grandma's kitchen.
Bass and Mendelson have leaned into Sugarwitch's coffee program thanks to an informal partnership with the local roastery and cafe Coffeestamp — an arrangement that shows their creativity is not limited to ice cream. Together with their beverage manager, Camy Bright, they have come up with some seriously interesting concoctions, like cold brew coffee that is infused with vanilla and topped with delectable black sesame cream. That same cold brew is the base of their Instagram famous cereal milk coffee, which pairs the beverage with frothy Fruity Pebbles cereal-infused milk, berry syrup and Fruity Pebbles Dust; it's surprisingly more restrained than you'd imagine. And of course, the team cannot help but to offer their teas and coffees as floats, notably the Peach Edith Grey, which is a complex, gently fruity and bergamot-kissed melange of peach ice cream, sparking Edith Grey tea from Big Heart Tea and whipped cream.
Peach and Edith Grey, miso and brown sugar, Bass and Mendelson, Sugarwitch and St. Louis — some things were meant to go together.
Open Fri. 3-9 p.m.; Sat.-Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Mon. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. (Closed Tuesday-Thursday)
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