Satisfy your sweet tooth at Horatio’s Homemade Ice Cream in Downtown Custer

Photo Courtesy of Horatio’s Ice Cream’s Facebook page

Next time you visit Downtown Custer, be sure to follow the scent of freshly baked waffle cones to Horatio’s Homemade Ice Cream. Named after Horatio Nelson Ross, a gold prospector with the Custer Expedition, Horatio’s has provided strictly homemade ice cream cones, floats, sundaes and ice cream sandwiches to customers from all over the Black Hills for the past four years.

Cheryl Steele, co-owner of Horatio’s Homemade Ice Cream, said friends of hers bought the building years ago with no specific plans for it. 

“We’ve always been in the restaurant and resort business, so they [our friends] encouraged us to open the ice cream business,” said Steele. “And so we jumped in and said, ‘Yeah, that’d be fun!'”

Horatio’s always has classic flavors like chocolate and vanilla on hand, but the shop also features a rotating selection of seasonal ice cream flavors, sorbets, sherbets and nondairy options, so there’s always something for everyone. According to Steele, the lemon poppy seed and butterscotch ice cream flavors are fan favorites.

“We do a butterscotch ice cream and we call it The Taste of Custer, so we get a lot of requests for that,” said Steele. “I usually do it during Gold Discovery Days and then in the fall.”

Horatio’s Homemade Ice Cream is open six days a week, 12-9 p.m., with shorter hours on Mondays. The shop is closed on Tuesdays.

The shop can get busy during tourist season, but Steele said that’s what makes it so enjoyable.

“It’s just really busy and fun,” said Steele. “You know, you’re here all day, but the day goes by so fast. Usually people that come in for ice cream are always happy and in a good mood. It’s definitely a happy place.”

For more information about Horatio’s Homemade Ice Cream, visit their website here.