Indigo Moo'd offers ice cream and a place for Lindsborg residents to gather
Charles Rankin, Salina Journal
4 min read
LINDSBORG — With memories of grabbing a cone as a child, and realizing the city didn't have an ice cream shop, one woman decided to open one in downtown Lindsborg.
Alison Replogle, who owns and operates Indigo Moo'd, said that when she and her husband, Shawn, would take walks in downtown Lindsborg, they would talk about how there weren't many places open in the evening for families and other people in the community.
"It's (here) to have a place for people to gather and celebrate," Replogle said.
Why ice cream in downtown Lindsborg?
Customers arrived right after Indigo Moo'd opened at noon Friday to get a taste of ice cream in Lindsborg.
The choice to make an ice cream shop made sense for Replogle too. She said there were already good coffee shops, restaurants, bars and other shops downtown, and ice cream was something fun and challenging for her, as well as something new and different for the community.
"It's a good family-friendly (option)," Replogle said. "I have memories of, after concerts as a kid, my parents taking us out for ice cream. For me, that was probably a connection point."
Replogle keeps that connection, and those memories, alive by having Indigo Moo'd stay open later after events in Lindsborg, whether those are a music concert at one of the Smoky Valley Public Schools or a musical production in the park.
A new addition to the shop, an ice cream cart, means that Indigo Moo'd can also go to some of the events around Lindsborg.
"We are going to take that to Broadway RFD, so we'll be there a couple of the nights (next week)," Replogle said.
Supporting the local community and region
Like so many other small businesses, Indigo Moo'd takes part in its local community, partnering with shops, organizations and other businesses in the region.
Taking pride in sourcing ingredients for its homemade ice cream, one of those partnerships is with the dairy that Indigo purchases, which comes from Hildebrand Farms in Junction City.
"I love working with them," Replogle said. "I don't know any other place that sells dairy like that."
She said she loves that Hildebrand offers pasteurized, ready-to-use diary, is nearby and has been a family-owned business since the beginning.
This month, Indigo partnered with Lindsborg Old Mill and Swedish Heritage Museum for the Christmas in July celebration. A limited-time flavor was created for the July 15 event called Old Mill Mint, which is filled with crushed peppermint candy and Oreo cookie crumbles mixed into the store's peppermint ice cream.
Another Lindsborg partnership about as local to Indigo as can be.
One of the more popular flavors at Indigo Moo'd is the Blacksmith Cold Brew, which uses coffee grounds from Blacksmith Coffee Shop and Roastery, right across Main Street. A common menu item at the shops is the affogato, espresso poured or "drowned" over a scoop of ice cream. In the case of Blacksmith, the ice cream comes from Indigo, and for Indigo, the coffee comes again from Blacksmith.
Replogle said it's important for local businesses to work together.
"We're all stronger and better if we can work together rather than compete against each other," Replogle said. "I've really felt that ... in downtown Lindsborg. (Everyone) just does a really good job of communicating ... lifting each other up and publicizing for each other."
She said there are often tourists who tell her they came from another shop downtown that recommended they stop at Indigo to try the ice cream.
Hosting community and educational events
Emma Bieker, right, of Jem Farms in Lindsborg, sprays fly repellant on her cow Candy right before showing 4-H kids how an automatic milking system works. The children came to Indigo Moo'd as part of the Central Kansas Extension District 4-H Dairy Day.
Having worked as a local elementary school counselor for many years, one of the things that Replogle likes to do is give back to the community, particularly with educational opportunities.
"Knowing most of the kids in the community, I really like opportunities to bring kids in and do things with them," Replogle said.
On Friday, one such opportunity happened as the Central Kansas Extension District for Kansas State University hosted a 4-H Dairy Day at Indigo.
During this event, Emma Bieker of Jem Farms in Lindsborg brought two dairy cows and showed children the milking process.
"They're going to talk a lot about how we use dairy in our products," Replogle said just before the event began.
The children learned dairy-making processes like how to churn butter and then ended Dairy Day with Replogle showing them how she makes ice cream.
Indigo Moo'd open in downtown Lindsborg
People visiting Lindsborg can visit Indigo Moo'd Ice Cream, located downtown at The Courtyard, 125 N. Main St.
Summer hours for the shop are 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and noon to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The shop is closed on Mondays.
