The people of New Tampa have now been hearing the phrase โWelcome to Cold Stoneโ for 20 years and even though many other ice cream shops have entered the local market (and many others have gone away), Cold Stone Creamery has been a constant source of joy for young and old alike. It features a unique selection of super-creamy, ultra-premium ice cream flavors, and a huge variety of toppings that you can have the happy Cold Stone ice creamers mix in from more than two dozen ingredients (bottom photo) โ from fresh bananas, strawberries and raspberries to candies and cookies like Heath bars, Twix and Reeseโs Oreos and toppings like real (but not hot) fudge, marshmallow, caramel and even pistachio cream sauce.
New Tampa store general manager Nola Davis (above) says that this summer before the kids go back to school is a great time to try or return to Cold Stone, as there are several new flavors and new Signature Creations everyone can check out.
For example, she says, โin honor of the recently released โSupergirlโ movie, Cold Stone currently has โSupergirlโs Cosmic Kettle Cornโ (above left), which combines kettle corn-flavored ice cream, big pieces of kettle corn (above right), a caramel swirl and Supergirl-colored sprinkles.โ
Another current specialty creation is the Oreoยฎ Pretzel Perfection (left), which Nola says, โhas a sweet cream-based, Oreoยฎ Cookie chocolate-covered pretzel ice cream, Oreoยฎ cookies, mini-pretzels, caramel and sugar crystals (below left).โ
Thereโs also a new โCup & Cookie Chaosโ (not pictured) that features Cookies โnโ Peanut Butter ice cream that is made with Oreoยฎ cookies, Reeseโs peanut butter cups and Oreoยฎ Reeseโs cookies.
And finally, Nola says, the big hit of the summer so far is, โOur Dubai Chocolate Creationโ (top photo). โIt has our chocolate ice cream with pistachio cream, kataifi (finely shredded phyllo dough) and chocolate shavings. Everyone is crazy about Dubai chocolate these days. And, people are really loving it!โ
Nola even sent us home with samples of each creation, so we could all sample them. My favorite, not surprisingly, is the โCup & Cookie Chaos,โ but I can definitely finish off a serving of any of them.
She adds, โEven if you pick one of our Signature Creations,โ Nola says, โYou can still make it your own.โ
All of these Signature and โCreate Your Ownโ Creations can be put on your choice of a cone, cup or waffle bowl, in the usual Cold Stone sizes โ Kidโs Size, โLike Itยฎ,โ โLove Itยฎโ and โGotta Have Itยฎ.โ
I had for me to not take one of these entire cakes home with me and finish it all myself.
Nola also explains that although there is always a supply of ready-made cakes in the store (above right photo), including some of the โPerfect Pairโ cakes, โMost of our cakes are custom-ordered, so you can always get whatever flavors of ice cream you want, toppings, everything, but please always give us at least two days to create the cake you want because someone has to build the cake and someone else will have to decorate it. Then, it has to stay in the freezer for a certain amount of time.โ
So Many Specials!
The New Tampa Cold Stone Creamery also offers different specials every Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Monday is โMega Monday!,โ when you get one FREE โLike-it Createโ creation with one mix-in when you purchase any two โLove-itโ sizes (or larger).
Tuesday is โ2-for-$10 Tuesday!,โ when you get any two โLike-itโ creations (with one mix-in each) for only $10.
Wednesday is โWaffle Wednesday!,โ when you get a FREE plain waffle bowl or cone when you buy one โLove-itโ size (or larger),
Thursday is โThriving Thursday!,โ when you get $2 OFF any Cookies, Cupcakes or Reeseโs Cups OR $5 OFF any Large-Size Signature Cake.
And, right now, when you mention this story and present the coupon in the ad below, youโll get a FREE scoop of ice cream!
All of these offers are valid in-store at the Cold Stone location on Preserve Walk Ln. in New Tampa ONLY. Please note that they are not available with any other offers and are limited to one special per family/per order.
We definitely agree with Nola that the summer is the best time of year to check out the New Tampa Cold Stone Creamery. Now you know why!
New Tampaโs Cold Stone Creamery is located at 17519 Preserve Walk Ln., in the Highwoods Preserve area, just off I-75. It opens every day at 11 a.m. and stays open until 11 p.m. on Sunday, until 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and until midnight on Friday & Saturday. For more info, visit ColdStoneCreamery.com or call (813) 977-0024.
