The first summer of Pink Cloud Creamery, Battle Ground's only brick-and-mortar ice cream spot, has been “better than I feel like I thought it would be," said the creamery's manager and mastermind, Louise Cichosz.
"People have loved it," she said. "And I think it was about time for ice cream in Battle Ground."
Pink Cloud Creamery opened on June 5 and shares space with the established Main Street boutique Pacificly You — which is owned by Cichosz's sister, Heidi Cichosz.
Louise Cichosz has helped her sister in the shop since its first year.
This month, it celebrates its sixth anniversary.
"I always wanted to do something where I could a little bit run something … And, I don't know, we thought it would be fun," Cichosz says. "Ice cream shops are always cute, and we wanted to do something cute and pink."
Even from the street, Pink Cloud paints a picture.
Pink chairs and candy-striped umbrellas provide as much decoration as they do fair-weather seating, where patrons can enjoy their ice cream and soak in the street's ambience.
The rose tint continues inside, where Cichosz proudly serves Cascade Glacier ice cream.
"We kind of grew up going to Scoopers down at the beach, and they always had Cascade Glacier, and we loved it,” she said.
While they go through more cotton candy ice cream than anything else, another popular flavor is, surprisingly, licorice.
This unique flavor is smooth, sugary and lightly botanical.
"People love that because I feel like you can't find it everywhere," Cichosz said.
As autumn sets in at Pink Cloud for the first time, flavors such as pumpkin appear on the specials menu. Hot apple cider swirls in a warmer behind the ice cream counter. One day, there might be a walkup window, but Cichosz said she isn't looking too far into the future.
For now, she simply enjoys serving Battle Ground and plans to continue.
Pink Cloud Creamery is located at 602 E. Main St., Battle Ground. Learn more by following the business on Facebook at tinyurl.com/yrk8xc5z.
