Ellie’s Deli

Ellie’s is a cute little ice cream shoppe just off Bayliss Park. It has a very traditional and simple charm to it. They serve soup, specialty sandwiches, and Nathan’s hot dogs in addition to ice cream.
It’s nice for what it is, but to get a higher rating they’d have to sell something unique… something I can’t buy from the grocery story and take home with me. It could be as simple as making your own flavored whip creams or own cones.

Being a foodie and someone that is not from around here I admit I have high standards. I’m from the East Coast Virginia near DC originally so I’m used to non-​chain And chain food establishments. In a non-​chain small business I expect more. I chose to hunt these places out because 1) I want to support the small business owner and B) I hate processed chain TGI-​McFunster crap.
That background over with, I go to my review of Ellie’s Deli. First lets start with establishment. It is clean and the staff is very friendly. Now onto the ice cream. I was hoping for a home made product or fresh made ice cream. Even simply soft serve made fresh daily. Instead this is simply containers of Blue Bunny Ice Cream. Now Blue Bunny is definitely a great ice cream but I can buy it at Walmart and scoop it into a cone myself for much less than I pay at this deli. Now you might say well they have fresh cones… Nope! They are from a box. Sad.
Now onto the food. They offer a wide variety of sandwiches made to order. Their menu selection is actually great. Ingredients… Not so much. Their bread is from HyVee out of a bag, their «Aioli» store bought. I mean come on how hard is it to make Mayo from scratch!!! Their spicy mayo Kraft! It is still in the original bottle. Now I’m not saying make everything from scratch but really?
I also tried their chili… It was simply campbell’s soup or whatever can of chili they opened. No Bueno !!!
If I wanted canned food, canned ice cream, and boxed cones I would stay home. I expect more from the little guy or why wouldn’t I just stick to Dairy Queen? Make something from scratch please ! If you want to learn how I’ll even teach you. The only thing this place offers is a nice ambiance and location. Other than that … I would move on to the next place. I’m sad to be disappointed I had high hopes when I first saw the place. Good luck but I’d say it is time for a make over in the kitchen pretty quick. Buy and ice cream machine, play with flavors. It is fun and when word spreads the line will be around the block !

Nothing beats having an ice cream shop within walking distance of your downtown CB apartment.
Wanted to enjoy a sunset stroll around the Bluffs and needed to find a way to enjoy it even more — what better way than to do it with ice cream?
Picked up two scoops of Blue Bunny classics — chocolate chip cookie dough and pralines & caramel. Packed firmly atop a crunchy sugar cone, this sweet confection didn’t stand a chance.
Very generous scoops and terrific, friendly service. Next time I hope the salted caramel isn’t sold out!

My husband and I made our first Ellie’s stop of the season last night. He ordered a two-​scoop cone, a different flavor for each scoop– $ 2.50.
A younger girl, in the shop with her friends, served up our order. This reminded me of a time of the past, a high school kid enjoying time with friends while manning a small business, gabbing in between customers. It was quaint.
If you head to Bayliss Park, support local business and drop into Ellie’s. A one-​scoop cone is $ 1.50; a small investment. Ice cream is Blue Bunny. Their offerings include malts, shakes and sundaes.