Visit this dreamy ice cream parlor on East Washington Avenue

Stella Buckley’s foray into ice cream began in 2023 when her fiance gifted her an ice cream maker. She started making ice cream treats to share with her coworkers and quickly developed a knack for making any flavor they requested. Word of mouth spread and, eventually, Buckley was handing out ice cream at birthday parties for kids whose families she didn’t even know.

Then a friend suggested she vend at the Dane County Farmers’ Market. She bought an ice cream cart and started selling ice cream — originally under the name Dairy Godmother — every Saturday near the Square. Buckley also started vending at community events like the Madison Night Market, where she’d often sell out.

When she couldn’t meet demand on a blustery, snowy day in April 2024, she knew this was becoming more than just a side hustle. She decided to quit her day job in the biotechnology industry and grow her ice cream business by hiring staff and developing a wholesale plan, eventually moving Stellie’s Ice Cream to a brick-and-mortar location in the ground floor of an apartment building on East Washington Avenue in June 2025.

The ice cream parlor is bright and modern with retro pink-and-red branding and minimalist design elements like round pendant lights. Ice cream flavors are displayed in a case underneath a wall display of glass tubes filled with toppings, including sprinkles, animal crackers and Oreos. A row of windows behind the counter offers a peek into Buckley’s production space.

“I want Stellie’s Ice Cream to be your friendly neighborhood ice cream shop,” says Buckley.

All of the ice cream flavors in Stellie’s scoop case are made on-site in small batches using products from Sassy Cow Creamery, just 17 miles northeast of the shop. Honey vanilla bean remains the bestselling flavor, followed by a peanut butter cookie dough that incorporates a peanut butter ganache swirl and soft cookie dough chunks. “My favorite [seasonal] flavor is our peanut butter and strawberry jam,” says Buckley. “It has a nostalgic flavor that makes adults feel like little kids again.”

Stellie’s employee Katie Ravich helps develop flavors, lending her expertise as a chocolatier to bring ambitious ideas to fruition. “The intricacies of our recipes are what make [Stellie’s] so special,” says Buckley.

After stopping in for a scoop, customers can grab a 5-ounce container of Stellie’s ice cream from a freezer by the door. In addition to managing the parlor, Buckley continues to bring these flavors to local events with her original cart. It’s a way for Buckley to maintain a connection with the community that helped launch her business.

Taking Suggestions

Photo by Nikki Hansen

Stellie’s brick-and-mortar location gives Stella Buckley the space to experiment with new ideas — but not every flavor is a winner. “We have a lot of misses,” says Buckley. “We came up with [a flavor called] Sweet Heat for an Inner Fire Yoga event. Corn and lime with sriracha caramel — it was so bad.” But research and development are a key part of Buckley’s process. In the store, customers can even request new flavors and give feedback on existing ones through a Google Form. The banana pudding flavor was born from this process — what started as an idea from a community member became a top-selling flavor that will return this summer.

Hannah Wente is a contributing writer to Madison Magazine.