Conny’s Creamy Cone celebrates 30 years of soft serve ice cream in St. Paul
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For about 15 years, Benita and Michael Warns have been the first ones in line as Conny’s Creamy Cone opens.
“It was just a fluke at first,” said Benita Warns. “It became a tradition for us and so we kept doing it. And we like to support small businesses because we own small businesses as well.”
They couldn’t have asked for a more perfect spring Saturday for Conny’s season reopening, their 30th in business. But even if the temperature hadn’t climbed to a record high just a week after a blizzard, the Warns would have still been there.
“We’ve stood out here when it’s been like 10 degrees to wait for this to open,” added Benita Warns. “But, you know, it's kind of a loyalty thing for us now.”
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The St. Paul ice cream shop is a Como Park neighborhood institution known for soft serve, offering teens their first jobs and its involvement in community.
A giant, peeling ice cream statue sits atop the window-service only establishment on the corner of Dale Street and Maryland Avenue.
The Warns declined to share what time they arrived to preserve their secrets. They can’t abide by someone else scooping their first-in-line spot for the opener. The next person in line arrived about 40 minutes before the 11 a.m. open.
The Warns didn’t even need to share their order aloud. Owner Jeff Audette knew it by heart as he worked the register: two chili dogs with onion and mustard, hot fudge shakes with extra fudge and French fries, no salt.
‘The sweetest place in the neighborhood’
Audette, who owns Conny’s with his wife Molly, directed MPR News to speak with Matthew Connolly for its history. The 25-year-old’s experience predates their ownership.
Connolly’s grandmother lived a few houses away, so getting ice cream was how his family marked birthdays, anniversaries and other milestones.
He joined the team as a teen and continued to pick up shifts even after college and starting a full-time role elsewhere. He has now worked at Conny’s for over a decade and runs its social media.
“And I'm still here sticking around,” said Connolly with a smile.
Connolly said the building was once home to a Chinese takeout restaurant, burger joint and a video rental store.
Its namesake, Conny McCullough, took over an existing ice cream business in 1996. In 2021, she sold it to the Audettes because of their close connections and commitment to keeping it community centered.
“We've really built a family within the network of folks who work here and who come and visit Creamy Cone,” Connolly said. “That’s what's so special about 30 years, is that many of us have been coming for 30 years and we’re still here.”
The Warns count themselves as part of that family. The couple said they patronize Conny’s weekly and appreciate its support for local causes, such as donating proceeds from pup cups to the nonprofit Canine Inspired Change.
“The money that you spend here stays in the neighborhood, a lot of it does,” Michael Warns said. “So that's a big deal.”
