Portland Vegan-Friendly Ice Cream Shop St. Francis Opens in Foster-Powell | Eater Portland
"I watched Mike Mello and Nate VanDeventer, who live nearby and who opened Thunderbird Bar in 2017, open St. Francis Ice Cream in late December in a small storefront in the historic For Mrs. Noble building as a family-friendly complement to the neighborhood’s adult-oriented options. The shop slings rotating dairy and vegan scoops — about 10 dairy flavors and five vegan flavors on average — with offerings that range from mango habanero and strawberry cheesecake to vanilla peanut butter, lemon marionberry, and ube on the dairy side, and ginger snap cookie and strawberry swirl among the vegan options. Their vegan base uses gluten-free oat milk and coconut cream to better mimic dairy fat, and Dream Bird’s vegan chocolate chip cookie dough appears in both dairy and vegan forms; Mello and VanDeventer spent three months of trial and error developing the recipes. They prioritized pops of color and “happy vibes” in the design, and plan to combine the Dream Bird cookies with ice cream for sandwiches and have fresh cookies available, which ties back to their collaboration with Dream Bird. The shop’s name pays homage to a San Francisco diner that has personal meaning for the owners." - Janey Wong
