Customers get last taste of beloved ice cream shop near Lake Michigan, closing after 66

SOUTH HAVEN, MI –– As Debbie and Len Walter, of Plymouth, ate Chocomania ice cream with their granddaughter outside of Sherman’s Dairy Barn, they relived memories with each spoonful.

Debbie Walter, a frequent customer, remembers being at Sherman’s near closing time. A worker would hand the customer at the back of the line a sign that read: “LAST PERSON.”

“Otherwise the line would just continue to grow,” Walter said.

On Saturday, Oct. 26, the last customer in line that evening will be the last Sherman’s Dairy Barn will serve. The ice cream shop, just 2 miles from Lake Michigan, is closing for good after 66 years in business.

A few things have changed over the years at the South Haven staple, 1601 Phoenix St.

There’s no longer an inside with tables, where customers fondly remember cramming in to order and eat.

Sherman’s no longer makes its ice cream on site –– in December 2019, Sherman’s announced a partnership with Hudsonville Ice Cream to keep the local ice cream flavors in production.

And there are new owners, since when it first opened.

Yet, after 66 years, some things have stayed the same.

The first is the line.

Next, are the 29 classic and unique flavors.

The third is the two cows on top of the building, Blue and Baby Blue. Although they’ve been stolen and returned a handful of times and are now anchored into the roof.

And perhaps most importantly, a constant at Sherman’s has been the connection customers feel when they visit.

To the Walters and many people visiting for the last time, Sherman’s represents fond memories with family, milk routes with dad and dripping ice cream under the hot summer sun.

“It’s a staple,” Grand Valley State University student Amanda Mykrantz, said. “Whenever you come down here, now, a little part of it is missing.”

Mykrantz accompanied her friend Allie Walter and Walter’s grandparents on the ice cream date earlier this week.

Allie Walter introduced Mykrantz to Sherman’s years ago. They pair came down from GVSU on Tuesday, Oct. 22, to have the ice cream one last time –– not counting the pints they bought, to go.

“I’ve been coming here since I was a baby,” Allie Walter said. “Coming here for the Fourth of July was always so fun.”

There used to be a hose on the side of Sherman’s. Her grandparents would use it to hose her down, as a child, after she got done eating.

Allie Walter ordered the flavor she always ordered growing up: Chocomania.

“Those were the first words when she came to see us. Not, ‘Hey grandma how are you?’ It was, ‘When are we going to go to Sherman’s?’” Debbie Walter said.

Mykrantz ordered the first flavor she ever tasted from Sherman’s: Yellow Cake Batter.

Debbie and Len Walter wanted coconut almond fudge — but it was already sold out.

“We meet more people here in line than we know in town,” Debbie Walter said. “So it’ll be sad not to do that anymore.”

Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive reached out to employees to share memories and sentiments of Sherman’s closing, but the employees were told by ownership they were not cleared to interview.

“The 2024 season of Sherman’s Dairy Bar will be its last, and the building will be put up for sale. We are thankful to our community for making us part of your summer traditions for 66 seasons, and we hope you will join us for one last scoop of Sherman’s before we close on Oct. 26,” a spokesperson said in an email.

Ownership didn’t respond to questions about the closure.

The final hours at Sherman’s are from noon to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

“I still hope someone will buy it and reopen it,” Debbie Walter said.

Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Kalamazoo” daily newsletter.