City’s ice cream master stumbled into the creamy job

Michigan native Mike Duguay stands inside his frozen treat joint, Mike's Ice Cream Fountain located downtown.

Mike Duguay points to a hardening cabinet and speaks pleasantly yet frankly.

“This machine blasts cold air onto the ice cream,” said Duguay, the affable owner of the Lower Broadway ice cream joint Mike’s Ice Cream Fountain, which just celebrated its sixth year of serving some serious cream.

“You want, as quickly as possible, to freeze the ice cream to 25 degrees below zero,” he adds, nodding next toward a walk-in freezer.

A hesitant writer and the affable entrepreneur entered the massive metal contraption as the former — a bit unnerved by the cold-air-belching beast — meekly asked Duguay if there is any way the freezer door could close, thus trapping the duo.

“Oh no,” Duguay said with a chuckle that failed to reassure. We exited, with my glasses covered in steam.

A human would survive no more than 30 minutes in the freezer. But ice cream thrives in this chilly environment, which represents one of the many stages in a multi-step process required to deliver the creamy goodness Nashvillians eat by the spoon and cone fulls at both the Riverside Village and downtown locales of Mike’s Ice Cream and Just Java Coffee Bar.

And to think Duguay stumbled into the world of cones, cups and caffeine.

In 2002, Duguay lived quietly in Michigan, toiling as an accountant. That summer, the country music fan visited Nashville for what was then called Fan Fair (and is now the CMA Music Festival) and, while exploring downtown, wondered where he could find some tasty ice cream not made by Baskin-Robbins or Dairy Queen. Failing to find an indie creamery, he decided to leave the Great Lakes State and opened Mike’s in May 2003.

After six months of operation and wanting to add coffee to the menu, Duguay approached the owner of Just Java (a Second Avenue café) and, as timing would have it, she almost immediately sold her company’s name and equipment to Duguay. He unveiled Just Java Coffee Bar in January 2004 and, to this day, sells Summit Coffee (from the Mt. Juliet, Tenn.-based roasting company).

In the early days, Mike’s sold exclusively Purity ice cream. Since that time, Duguay — who previously managed both a pizza joint and an ice cream parlor — has added his homemade ice cream concoctions to the menu, with the Lower Broadway location establishing itself as a fixture of sorts over the years. At times, the quirky creamery overflows with contented customers.

In March 2008, Duguay bought Sip in Inglewood’s Riverside Village. The quaint coffee shop now offers 16 flavors of Mike’s Ice Cream, while still serving tantalizing Drew’s Brews coffee drinks. Because of its two highly different retail locations — the downtown Mike’s is popular with tourists, while Sip services locals in East Nashville — Mike’s Ice Cream likely is now the most well-recognized independent ice-cream-maker in Davidson County (with all due respect to Five Points fave The Pied Piper and the soft-serve-making Bobbie’s Dairy Dip on the city’s west side).

Behind the Sip space and in a spotless warehouse, Duguay and dedicated employee Nicole Thomas craft the creamy delights starting with the same basic ingredients: milk, cream, sugar and stabilizers. Candies, swirls, fruits and cookies are added to give each flavor a “different twist,” Duguay said.

“We strive to create quality, old-fashioned flavors that are hard to find in today’s day and age,” he said. “Flavors like pistachio containing real pistachios; rum raisin flavored with real rum; rocky road with true miniature marshmallows and fresh, locally roasted almonds; coffee made with our own specially-brewed, locally-roasted coffee beans; and maple walnut.”

During a recent workday, Duguay and Thomas made strawberry ice cream. Thomas, taking a no-nonsense approach, addressed a key piece of machinery used in the ice cream-making trade: the Stoelting VB120. This rather industrial-looking machine can make up to 7.5 gallons of ice cream per session and, while in operation, would not be very welcoming to an unwittingly placed hand or arm.

“There is a lot of experimentation that goes into this,” Duguay said as the Stoelting hummed and churned.

Duguay noted that the Stoelting allows the cream to freeze a bit along its cylinder walls. Blades peel the creation from the walls in what is an early phase of the overall process.

“Superior ice cream will have the smallest of crystals,” said Duguay, who attended the Winston Salem, N.C.-based Frozen Dessert University and, each year, hits a different cream-related national conference.

Thomas said one of the most challenging tasks of her job is working with “pourable peanut butter.”

On that nutty note, Duguay buys walnuts, pecans and almonds from Arcade institution The Peanut Shop.

Over the years, Thomas and Duguay have developed more than 60 flavors. Some have stuck, while others simply were no more palatable than broccoli and beets are to a 3-year-old.

“You feel like an artist, so sometimes I get a little offended when people don’t like a flavor,” Duguay said with a chuckle.

“Nicole is very modest,” he added. “Even when a flavor is good, she still makes me taste it.”

That experimental mindset and attention to detail allow the duo to churn out some distinctive flavors, including Nutter Butter Cookie, Tennessee Fudge, Banana Cream Pie, Cherry Cola and Blue Raspberry White Chocolate.

“Our flavors are constantly changing,” Duguay said. “We’re working on some new, cutting-edge products. Also, with a minimum order, we can create a special flavor for any event or even for a unique gift for someone special.”

Mike’s Ice Cream does not limit itself to in-store sales, as Duguay and Thomas produce their treats for catering and wholesale to other stores.

And for themselves.

“I eat our ice cream every day,” Duguay said, patting his mid-section.

When asked how he avoids packing on the pounds, Duguay paused, then replied with a smile, “I’ve been able to eat our ice cream yet still lose six to seven pounds in three weeks.”

Mike’s Ice Cream Fountain
Just Java Coffee Bar
208 Broadway
742-6453
mikesicecreamfountain.com

Sip Cafe
1402 McGavock Pike
227-1035