All it takes to make a culinary product sound special is to call it “local,” “artisanal,” or “small-batch”—code for careful preparation and limited supply.
And while such goods have been all the rage nationwide over the last 20 years, one Baton Rouge institution has been making this sort of delicacy since 1957: the LSU Dairy Store.
Made with milk from a herd of 100 Holstein cows at the LSU AgCenter’s Southeast Research Station in Franklinton, the Dairy Store churns out premium ice cream sold by the scoop or the pint.
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Buying a cone has been a rite of passage for generations of LSU students and faculty members, who represent about 90% of the store’s patrons during the school year.
Not much had changed for the small ice cream shop over its 67-year tenure until this spring, when its longtime digs on South Stadium Drive were razed to make way for the new $148 million Our Lady of the Lake Health Interdisciplinary Science Building. The Dairy Store was relocated to a large, freshly renovated space at 118 S. Campus Drive.
Dairy Store Manager Nicholas Uzee says it’s been a good move. The facility features top-of-the-line equipment and is situated on a corridor with lots of foot traffic.
“Our sales volume is triple what it was at our old location,” Uzee says. “We’ve been able to expand our product line and our flavor offerings. We can make 750 gallons in eight hours—more than double what we used to.”
75%
[Percent of patrons who request their ice cream in a waffle cone]
Patrons drop by for tastes of Tiger Bite (Golden Vanilla and Blueberry, swirled), Coffee Chip, Chocolate, Vanilla, Oreo Cheesecake, Fierce (Golden Vanilla and Mixed Berry), Turtle and more. There’s always a featured flavor of the week, along with eight standard options and eight rotating ones.
Serious effort goes into composing each batch, beginning with twice-monthly trips to retrieve milk from the research station. The ice cream is made by students and faculty in the store’s adjacent production area, which is now visible through plate-glass windows. Uzee says it’s prepared with far less “overrun” than most commercial ice cream, the term used for the amount of air deliberately whipped in to increase volume.
“Our ice cream is extremely creamy and rich,” Uzee says.
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The location was originally considered a temporary home as the Dairy Store’s planned permanent location in the new Interdisciplinary Science Building moves forward. But Uzee says the Campus Drive spot has been so successful, both locations could stay open after the science building debuts (likely in late 2025).
During the school year, the Dairy Store is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the summer, it’s open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Find it on Instagram at @lsudairystore
This article was originally published in the June 2024 issue of 225 Magazine.