The Creative Cow is Getting Artistic with Ice Cream
Grace Phillips
Ashland Beacon
Summertime in America means baseball, hot dogs and of course ice cream. It is one of our favorite summertime treats. There is a brand new ice cream experience in Ashland, KY just in time for summer. The Creative Cow is located at 724 Greenup Avenue inside the Ashland Giovanni’s. This unique shop features ice cream served on freshly made Belgian waffles with your choice of toppings. Brad and Sunshine Trimble are the owners and creative minds behind this new way to serve ice cream.
According to Brad Trimble, the waffle concept was Sunshine’s idea. “I just thought whenever you open a new business you need a reason for people to come…you need something unique. There are a number of ice cream shops in the area, so we wanted something different. We were already going to make our own waffle cones in-house, so I thought why not a waffle?” replied Sunshine.
When asked how they came up with such a unique name for the shop, Sunshine laughed, “That was all Brad. We knew we needed a theme to decorate with, so that was where his mind went and I went with him.” Brad’s thought process was actually pretty methodical. He recounted a beach trip where they had gone to an ice cream shop that had a catchy two-word name…both beginning with the same letters. He said Sunshine had already mentioned a cow decorating theme, which fit perfectly since ice cream is made of milk, and milk comes from cows. The new shop would have the word “cow” as a part of the name. Now he just needed a word that started with “c” to go with cow. The concept of ice cream served on waffles was really different… “creative” even…The Creative Cow was born.
You can’t help but smile when you step inside the store. The logo has the cutest little cow and a hot pink background. The walls are covered in black and white cow print, and the smell from the homemade waffle cones and waffles starts your mouth watering before you even see the ice cream.
You can truly create whatever type of ice cream and waffles you want. There are several sizes to choose from beginning with a triangle of the waffle and one scoop of ice cream all the way up to a full waffle and 4 scoops with any toppings you choose. Sunshine commented, “We try to keep fresh strawberries, but we also have a strawberry glaze with strawberries in it. We have a number of hot toppings…hot fudge, caramel, hot peanut butter, bananas, pineapples, whipped cream and many more to choose from.” If you aren’t quite adventurous enough to try the ice cream and waffle, there are plenty of other choices. The Creative Cow has 18 different flavors of ice cream at this time and hopes to add more in the future. You can choose a regular cone, freshly made waffle cone, nachos and ice cream that features waffle cone chips or an old-fashioned banana split.
Brad and Sunshine Trimble have been a part of the Ashland business scene for several years now as the owners of the Greenup Avenue Giovanni’s. I asked Sunshine how they made the jump from pizza to ice cream. She explained, “Well, we knew we needed to do something with the party room. After Covid, it was just pretty much wasted space. Our parking area is smaller, so if there was a large party it created a parking issue. We wanted to do something different and thought…why not ice cream.” The ice cream featured exclusively at the Creative Cow is Ashby Sterling Ice Cream. According to Brad Trimble, it has a higher butter fat content that makes it ultra-creamy and smooth. This is not an ice cream that can be purchased in a store, and they have an exclusive agreement to be the only ice cream shop in the area to carry Ashby Sterling.
Brad is already making plans for expanding the product line and number of flavors of ice cream. They felt it was better to start small and grow with the business rather than try to do everything at once. The Creative Cow is open daily from 12-9 p.m., although the hours on Friday and Saturday evenings are flexible. According to Brad, “If there are people still here or in the restaurant who want ice cream, we will stay past 9 p.m. on those days.” Their Facebook page is the best source of information on the shop, such as the menu as well as chances for contests and prizes.
I Chronicles 4:10 is known as the Jabez prayer. It says, “and Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain.” In closing Sunshine gave praise, “For over a year, Brad and I have been praying this prayer, and this is where we are now. We feel like God has answered our prayer and allowed us the opportunity to do this and we want to glorify him in any way we can.”
Make plans to visit the Creative Cow this week. You won’t be sorry!