Plant Love Ice Cream
St. Pete’s vegan ice cream shop Plant Love Ice Cream plans to open a second location in Gulfport by May. A Friend Who Bakes permanently closed earlier this month, which led to Plant Love Ice Cream taking its place on 2901 Beach Blvd. S.
Owners Brittney and Travis Sherley of A Friend Who Bakes left a note on the front door of the shop saying, “Hi everyone! We have sold the bakery, and the new owners will take over soon. Thank you for your support and friendship over the years.”
After success in St. Pete for the past five years, owner JoAnn S. Matchin decided to expand the alternative ice cream to other parts of Pinellas.
“We can reach twice as many people and have our neighbors down there like Golden Dinosaur and Sumitra coffee. It’s just gonna be nice to be part of the community,” Matchin told The Gabber Newspaper.
Matchin explained how she makes all the ice cream from scratch by using coconut milk. As she makes the ice cream, her older son, Jordan Matchin, will help with the business aspect of the new location.
“Our little motto is ‘plant love and watch it grow’,” she said. “I infuse it with love literally every time I make it and we would like to think that we set an example of kindness by just planting love into the community.”
Currently, the inside of the shop still looks like the bakery. Matchin plans to add some “Plant Love touches on the space,” but keep the set up similar to how it was before.
