Devil May Care Ice Cream is breaking out of the icebox on flavors

By Jocelynn Rubio

Downtown Sacramento has gotten devilishly sweeter as Devil May Care Ice Cream & Frozen Treats keeps attracting customers with an adventurous sweet tooth.

The multi-colored ice cream shop has expanded beyond the traditional vanilla and chocolate scoops to offer innovative flavors, including Lavender Honey Bee Pollen, Mangonada, Goat Cheese Walnut and Peach Lychee Tea. And with the help from people who say they’re passionate about ice cream, this Devi’s hub is coming up with more sweet concoctions every day.

“There’s a whole world of flavor in there and it’s like, how can we bring that into ice cream?” noted Gerine Williams, the shop’s manager and operator.

Located on K Street, Devil May Care opened its doors to customers in February, branching out from its original West Sacramento ice cream shop. Williams said the name Devil May care comes from the idea of being “carefree and lackadaisical, but passionate. When Williams talks to potential employees, she likes to ask them what they are passionate about and then how their ideas can be incorporated into the day’s creamy menu.

“You have someone who’s interested in, like, Korean food, and we have all these different things,” said Williams. “How do we bring that into our brand and our flavor? We’re kind of open to exploring where all the different ways that ice cream might be able to go without trying to live in this box of these flavors. That’s not what people expect, so not everyone gets it. But the ones who do, appreciate it.”

Rachel Dickinson recently visited the Downtown location for the first time. She said the shop has a local feel, making it a brand that she wants to support.

 “I was actually torn because there were a lot of really distinct flavors,” Dickinson said.

Beyond ice cream, the shop also creates baked treats, including cookies and cake, and sells an array of flavored sodas, ranging from black cherry and caramel apple to blackberry and lemonade. Williams said that everything they sell is made in the shop.

“We have a running list of ideas,” she explained. “We’re always throwing flavors at each other for ice cream, for cakes, for pies, trying to take things that aren’t typically used. We’re working on a hot chicken, just trying new things.”