Bee Appetit: Move over, Gunther’s, this shop serves super-premium ice cream
Sacramento is an ice cream-loving town. From our beloved classic hangouts Gunther’s and Vic’s to more modern options like the vegan scoops at Babes Ice Cream & Donuts, there’s no shortage of places to grab a cup or cone.
In a way, ice cream parlors are the perfect anchor tenants for a neighborhood, each a place that draws people in and encourages engagement with the area. For Oak Park, that place is Licked.
Susan Stewart and her partner Darcie Weinberg run the shop, which sits across the street from their flagship business, the home and gift store Strapping, which has been in Oak Park for nine years. Stewart opened Licked in 2024, after the space became available.
“It used to be Conscious Creamery, which was a vegan gelateria. It was sitting empty for about eight months, and you could see how the businesses surrounding it were struggling, everyone on that side of the block, they weren’t having the walking traffic,” she said,
“I love Oak Park so much. It’s my community, it means so much to me. I just wanted to have a spot that was fun, kept businesses open, kept people walking around the neighborhood and strolling with our ice cream.”
Keeping with the whimsical tone of Strapping’s product mix, Stewart chose the tongue-in-cheek name Licked, complete with its double entendre.
Unlike Gunther’s and Vic’s, Licked does not produce its own ice cream. Stewart sources it from Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream in Madison, Wisconsin.
“It’s super premium ice cream, which means it’s low air, high butter fat. I just thought, if I’m going to compete with Gunther’s, being less than a mile away, I needed to have something that was spectacular,” she said.
“Both of my parents were chefs, and they both kind of instilled in me, if you’re ever going to do a food business, that you have to have the best food. I chose something really good, because I’m not a chef, I can’t make anything.”
Stewart was drawn to Chocolate Shoppe’s ice cream because its ice creams are highly decorated, having won multiple awards in competitions across the country, but what matters most is how it tastes.
“The thing that sold me on it was their Zanzibar chocolate ice cream. It’s super rich and yummy. It’s almost like frozen brownie batter,” she said. Indeed, the ice cream is super dark and fudgy.
Many of the flavors are as light-hearted as Stewart herself. Best sellers include Kitty Kitty Bang Bang, cheesecake ice cream with raspberry and Oreo, and Fat Elvis, which is banana ice cream with chocolate and peanut butter flakes.
A longtime buyer in resorts and golf destinations, she initially started Strapping as a line of masculine clothing for women. She evolved to the home and gift concept when the business opened in Oak Park.
Strapping’s product mix is equal parts practical and playful, from tasteful housewares to apparel and linens with sassy sayings. The store has an undeniably queer bent, but Stewart’s buying instincts make sure there’s something for everyone.
The store, like Licked, acts as something of a community hub beyond sales. It recently hosted a comedy night called Pride & Punchlines, and holds periodic dinner events called Sage Table, where queer people of all ages can connect and converse. The couple’s diminutive chihuahua, Willow, has also become something of a local celebrity.
By bringing people together, Strapping and Licked create a sense of belonging in a neighborhood that is otherwise not overtly queer.
“Oak Park’s been very welcoming. I do have occasional people that have harassed me, and I do have a bully that likes to call me once a week and give me the business,” she said.
But as a whole, as my customer base, I have every walk of person coming through the door, and they all are very welcoming and loving. No one’s ever been deterred by my rainbows, and honestly, I think we need more of that in Sacramento.”
