Kate's Ice Cream

"Perhaps Portland’s most notable dairy-free and gluten-free ice cream, Kate’s coconut-based flavors include things like rosewater cardamom almond, salted peanut butter brittle, and marionberry cobbler, scooped into oat flour waffle cones or over warm brownies at this pastel scoop shop. Seasonal flavors are often worth a perusal, whether it’s a summery Oregon strawberry or a fall-appropriate caramel apple crisp." - Eater Staff, Thom Hilton

"Mississippi’s vegan and gluten-free scoop shop, Kate’s Ice Cream has accrued a following for its coconut cream-based creations, like marionberry cobbler, salted peanut butter brittle, and triple chocolate brownie. If the flavors don’t evoke childhood nostalgia, the cheery pastel-hued shop, complete with rosy ombre tiling and a sunshine yellow door, will. Customers can enjoy scoops in house-made cones, ice cream cookie sandwiches, and warm brownie sundaes topped with rainbow sprinkles and vegan marshmallows. Pick up pints of seasonal flavors and host birthday parties with ice cream cakes at the shop, too." - Waz Wu

"Made with organic coconut cream, Kate’s Ice Cream is as rich and creamy as dairy-based varieties. Count on classics like vanilla and cookies and cream, but where Kate’s shines is in its seasonal flavors like lemon blueberry cheesecake made with blueberry jam and house-made graham cracker crust. Choose from cones (sugar, cake, waffle), warm brownie sundaes, and ice cream sandwiches — all entirely vegan and gluten-free — at the dreamy pastel-hued scoop shop on Mississippi. Kate’s is also the place to score a vegan ice cream cake for special celebrations or a Klondike style Choco Taco special." - Waz Wu

"Kate’s Ice Cream, a dairy-and-gluten-free ice cream brand known for flavors like salted peanut butter brittle and rosewater cardamom almond, will open a new ice cream parlor in the space once home to Ruby Jewel. In 2014, Katelyn Williams started making vegan ice cream for her sister, who couldn’t eat dairy. Williams moved to Portland in late 2017 and, after a year of recipe-testing, started to make pints of cashew- and coconut-based ice creams to sell at farmers markets and deliver to homes around Portland. She used Stahlbush Island Farms Marionberries for a Marionberry cobbler ice cream, made her own cashew milk for flavors like triple chocolate brownie and vanilla, and infused coconut milk with Oregon-grown mint oil for her mint chocolate fudge. “I felt like there was still an opportunity to create a great vegan ice cream,” Williams says. “We just want to make ice cream for everyone, one that works for everyone.” Within a matter of months, the buzz around Williams’ ice creams began to spread within the vegan and gluten-free circles in Portland, and she began scooping ice cream out of her commissary space on NE Sandy. While the makeshift courtyard scoop shop was a hit, she was still limited in what she was able to do: The space wasn’t large enough to expand her ice cream offerings, and there was no real indoor seating during the cooler months. She began looking for a space in early January, and, in a matter of months, found something that worked well: The former Ruby Jewel space on Mississippi. “Ruby Jewel, during the pandemic, decided to focus on their amazing ice cream sandwiches, closed up their shops, and Lisa (Herlinger, the owner of Ruby Jewel) has spent some time mentoring me,” Williams says. “It’s a beautiful opportunity for Kate’s ... I’m really proud to be able to be serving ice cream to the community they have served for over a decade now.” In the new ice cream shop, Williams will expand her offerings from the core seven flavors, with a wider swath of seasonal flavors, coconut sugar-sweetened ice creams, and a toppings bar complete with things like house-made Oreo-style crumbles. Williams often collaborates with Portland-area chefs and artisans on seasonal flavors, like snickerdoodle cookie cone made with Ground Up cinnamon snickerdoodle nut butter or lemon balm hibiscus with Hibisbloom’s mint hibiscus syrup. At the new shop, she hopes to open up more opportunities for those sorts of collaborations, both in terms of ice cream specials and frozen desserts — for instance, Williams recently collaborated with the vegan pop-tart pop-up Toast’d for a pop tart ice cream sandwich." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden

"The long-awaited North Mississippi scoop shop from the popular vegan ice cream brand, complete with sundae-makings and baked desserts." - Eater Staff