Restaurants & Bars
Pleasanton Ice Cream Shop Named 8th Best In Country By Yelp Users
It's scorching hot out, so find out which Pleasanton creamery users ranked as one of the best in the United States.
PLEASANTON, CA — It makes sense that the first certified dairy in California boasts the eighth best ice cream in the country: they’ve had plenty of time to get good.
Meadowlark Dairy, the century-old ice cream drive-thru known for great ice cream and great prices, was named the eighth best ice cream in the country in Yelp’s Top 100 US Ice Cream Shops 2023, based on customer reviews.
“Meadowlark Dairy is a place that will instantly become a family favorite the second you take the first lick of soft serve. Our family has been coming here for 25-plus years and have so many memories over delicious frosties. While fancy ice cream stores have their place, there is nothing quite like the simplicity of the drive-through dairy,” one user raved.
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Customers praised its creamy swirls of all different flavors, “fast and very efficient” drive-thru and walkup lines, dairy-free flavors, and reasonable prices.
Meadowlark was founded in 1919 by Walter Briggs, Sr. on 153 acres on Foothill Road, according to the company website. It soon became the first certified Dairy in California, and earned a Grade A designation for cleanliness and quality.
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In the 1950s, Dutch immigrants Jannes and Janna Takens signed a 10-year lease for the dairy, and bought it in the 1960s after Briggs’ death. The Takens family moved the cows from Pleasanton to Tracy and built a milk processing plant at 57 W. Neal Street, where it remains today.
In the 80s, the Takens’ son Bruce and his wife Patti took over, and introduced ice cream cones. The dairy is run today by their son Jesse and his wife Kelsey. Today, the dairy offers both ice cream and milk that is delivered to schools across the Bay Area.
Pleasantonians may disagree, but Yelp users found Coneflower Creamery in Omaha, Nebraska to be the number one ice cream shop in the country. Closer to home, Mitchell’s Ice Cream in San Francisco was ranked 10th best, while Marco Polo Italian Ice Cream in San Francisco ranked 51st.
Patch reached out to Meadowlark for further comment.
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