Marianne’s Ice Cream is a local legacy in Santa Cruz and beyond
Jeanette Bent
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) — KION got a taste of one local legacy ice cream parlor in Santa Cruz.
Co-owner of Marianne’s Ice Cream Charlie Wilcox divulged what makes their ice cream a Santa Cruz staple. Wilcox pretty much attributing to the secret ingredient being the Santa Cruz community bringing in the local flavor.
“We serve the Ocean Street location about 80 flavors every day, and we make over 150 different recipes throughout the year,” he said.
Marianne’s Ice Cream started back in 1947 and has been known as a local legacy ever since, best enjoyed by Santa Cruzans and others from the Central Coast over connection and sharing memories.
“Marianne has been around for 78 years, which kind of means that if you’ve lived in Santa Cruz, at any point in your life, you’ve got something that’s connected with us and, hopefully, we’ve got something that’s done well for you,” said Wilcox. “I think it’s really about your memories, your life. It’s an anchor that brings you home. When you come here, you know that you’re coming back to a place that has always carried you.”
Wilcox says that while the ice cream used to be made at their flagship Ocean Street location, since they’ve grown over the decades, so has the need for more space. Now, the ice cream is made in their own ice cream factory on the Westside.
“We take our cream, milk, whey, sugar (obviously) and all those ingredients… we mix them together and we run them through a machine that chills them down to about 20 degrees in about two minutes,” explained Wilcox. “[That] machine will actually make about 150 gallons of ice cream.”
One of Marianne’s more popular flavors was inspired by the rowdy and territorial local otters. Otter 841, as she became known a few years back…
“She was getting ready to raise a pup and she stole some of the surfer’s surfboards and would take a bite out,” said Wilcox about Otter 841’s inspiration to the flavor’s namesake. “Our cinnamon caramel base ice cream is a real unsung hero. It has a little bite. it’s good. it’s sweet. it’s cute…”
According to Wilcox, while the sheer amount of flavors may seem overwhelming, Marianne’s is still open to new, fun and weird flavor requests.
“We’ve been making new, fun, weird stuff for a lot longer than everybody else has,” said Wilcox. “That’s why it really is our signature. Come in and you can see our flavor ball.”
Charlie wrapped up KION’s ice cream tour with a little anecdote: When you visit a new town, ask for where to get the best ice cream because if it’s a small place — a “mom and pop shop” — that means that the town has soul.