What If Dessert Felt Like A 15 Minute Vacation

Meet Tamara Keefe, founder of Clementine's Ice Cream, as she breaks down what separates truly great ice cream from the rest — think small-batch production, all-natural ingredients, and a butterfat percentage that actually changes how flavor lingers. Tamara shares why Bentonville's walkable dining scene and the Walmart Home Office campus made the perfect home for her Midwest-born brand, and what she wants every guest to feel when they walk out the door. Spoiler: it's a 15-minute vacation in a scoop. 

A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.  

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Transcript

Welcome To Visit Bentonville

Speaker 0:02

Welcome to Visit Bittenville's Podcast, a new American town. I'm your host, Graham Cobb. I am happy to welcome Tamara Keefe, founder of Clementines Ice Cream to the Podcast. I am so glad that you are here. Tamara, welcome.

Tamara Keefe 0:20

Thank you. Thank you. I am so happy to be here.

Clementine’s Arrives In Bentonville

The Five Micro Creamery Rules

Mouthfeel Butterfat And Overrun

Growing Fans One Scoop At A Time

Why Walmart’s Campus Wanted Clementine’s

Building A Beautiful Parlor Experience

Choosing Flavors And The 15 Minute Vacation

How Clementine’s Fits Bentonville’s Food Scene

Vegan Non-Dairy And Gluten-Free For All

Collaborations With Local Makers

A Five Senses Experience For Everyone

Hours And What To Order First

What We Hope You Leave With

Explore Bentonville And Stay Connected

Speaker 0:24

And uh welcome to Bentonville. How long has Clementines been open in Bentonville? Just a couple of months. That's what I thought. And give us the quick version. What makes it different from a typical ice cream shop? Well, to begin with, we are a micro creamery. And if you don't know what that is, think about microbrewery for beer, but for ice cream. So there's five qualifications that you have to meet in order to be a micro creamery. One is it has to be small batch, meaning the ice cream is made by real people, not some big industrious building machine. Two, everything in the ice cream has to be handcrafted. If there's a pie, cake, or cookie, we make it, bake it, put it in it. We salt our own caramels, we candy our own pecans, we make our own hot fudge. You name it, our whipped cream, we we make it from scratch. Number three, we're the only um all-natural ice cream maker within the whole Midwest. So in order to be a micro creamery, you have to have an all-natural product. So no artificial flavors, fillers, colors, emulsifiers, or anything goes into our product. Number four, in order to be a micro creamery, you have to have more than 16% butter fat in your ice cream. So in comparison, most ice cream parlors and stuff you'd buy in the grocery store has around 10 to 12%. We're 16 to 18%. So what that means realistically when you eat the ice cream is that when you take a bite of our ice cream, that butter fat which coats your tongue, that flavor is gonna last in your mouth for two minutes. So you can still be sitting there two minutes later and be like, oh, this ice cream is so amazing. Whereas low butter fat products, you take a bite and the flavor goes away instantly and you have to take another bite. So it's the butterf that carries the scent and the flavor of the ice cream all throughout your mouth. And then last but not least, maybe one of the um most important things about being a micro creamery is uh it's around a technical term. It's called overrun. So, in order to be a micro creamery, you have to have less than 30% overrun in your ice cream. And overrun is that's the amount of air that's like whipped into the ice cream. So when you think about the the beater in the side of the machine that mixes ice cream, most places, and definitely most ice creams in the grocery store, they do 100% overrun. Meaning when you buy that pint at the store, it's 50% ice cream and 50% air. That's called 100%. So, in order to be a micro creamer, you have to have less than 30%. That's why our pints weigh so much heavier than everyone else's pints, because we don't put all the air in the ice cream. If you've ever been to an ice cream parlor where you go in and it melts instantly, it's because it's full of air. Anybody who's gonna go give you like huge scoops of ice cream, it's low quality, it's full of air, you probably don't really want to eat it. Maybe you do, but it's still ice cream. So, overrun, it's really a way that other places and big companies use to use less product to make the ice cream. So it really kind of in our mind, it cheats the consumer, right? Because you think you're getting a full pint of ice cream and you're not, you're really getting half ice cream and and the rest air. Same with our cones. So, in order to be a micro creamery, you have to meet all of those qualifications, and and we do. And so we make a really different kind of product than most other places out there. That is so exciting to me. We talked about this before we went on the air, but I have uh a comically active sweet tooth. Um and in fact, I keep a podium in my mind of cookies in Bentonville and certainly in ice cream. And yes, I would agree that even not great ice cream is ice cream worth having, but there's a big difference in um in a high-quality product. Does it, and I'm gonna go off script a little bit now, but all of those things, does it change the mouthfeel? Does it change how it feels in my mouth? Yes. Yes. So, so high-quality, high butterfat ice cream will be much creamier and much more decadent in your mouth. I'll take it. I'm here for it. The mouthfeel is so much better. It's so much silkier and creamier and smoother than a lower quality or a different kind of product, I should say. So Clementines, you was originally built in St. Louis, right? Mm-hmm. And grew a following. How did you grow that following? Did they understand what you were trying to do differently? I think it was one scoop at a time. Okay. Right? Yeah, it really was. It was just getting people to try. Once they tried the ice cream, they were hooked. And St. Louis did not have a great ice cream game. There wasn't a lot of options, and can't St. Louis was a bit of a custard town as well. And so for the first time, they were really trying something that they had never had before. They didn't know that ice cream could be so good. That is so good. And so it it was just kind of one scoop at a time, and people just had to try it. And once they tried it, game over. So why why Bentonville for a location? And why a corporate home office? Why the Walmart Home Office campus? You know, that was interesting. They actually came to us. So Bentonville was always on my expansion plan, just not maybe as soon as as we did it. Um, but I think, you know, Walmart was trying, is trying to and has created and curated really this amazing collection of restaurants and very hospitality focused. They really wanted the best of the best right there on their headquarters campus for all of their employees and folks in in Bentonville. And so it was just this really great partnership that I just never expected. At first, I was like, yeah, no, I'm not ready. And they're like, no, we're gonna help you. It's it's gonna be okay. You know, they just kind of removed every roadblock that I put up and were just amazing to work with. And that's our first location that's on like a corporate campus because like we're an ice cream parlor. We're like in all the neighborhoods and communities in which we serve. Um, so it was a bit of a chance for us um as well to try something new and different. Um, and it's been it's been a really great experience because it's open to the whole public, right? There's all these amazing new restaurants and concepts that they have put into that campus that are open to everyone, not just employees. But not just open to the public. Like it feels almost like the public is drawn through that campus because of the uh because of the bikeways and the trails and the paths, and it it definitely feels it's a beautiful place to spend your Saturday and hang out with your family and friends and walk and eat. You know, you can go somewhere for a cocktail, you can go somewhere for dinner and somewhere for dessert. It's it's the the campus, they've Walmart has really made an experiential environment for people, kind of that work and play. And like it's it's really great. I agree a hundred percent. And so let's stick with that experiential environment. What does the experience of the of Clementines in Bentonville feel like? Well, we we say we make the best ice cream served in the most beautiful parlors by the nicest and kindest people. That's pretty pretty solid statement to make. Yeah, I think when you walk into our parlors, you you feel like you're in an ice cream parlor in Paris. Oh, wow. Right? It really is like nothing you've ever stepped into before in a in an ice cream parlor. Um, I say there's no dancing cows um and and weird things. Like you, you, you're going there for an experience, and and that experience needs to include how you feel in a really beautiful parlor environment. And you balance familiar flavors with some more expected ones. How do you what is that balance? How do you decide on that mix? You know, I have a great palette, I have a great team of people around me, and I'm really close to our customers, right? I listen to what our customers want, right? We we are not an ice cream company of extremely like simple, you know, I say pedantic flavors, right? There's a little bit of a twist, there's a little bit of an elevation on every ice cream flavor that we make because I believe that if you're gonna eat ice cream, you eat the best ice cream you've ever had, right? So, you know, we don't just serve a vanilla. We do, I you know, I believe that the best vanilla in the world comes from Madagascar. So our Madagascar vanilla is absolutely amazing and it's one of my favorite flavors. So I think it's it's balancing for people who like a little bit more adventure. We talk about it um as the 15-minute vacation. You still may walk out with gooey buttercake, right? But you're gonna want to try all those really unique seasonals because sometimes, just sometimes, you'll discover a new flavor that maybe you wouldn't want to commit to for a whole cone, but because you can try and sample all the different flavors that you find is a new favorite. And you're like, wow, I never would have expected to love that flavor so much, but I do. So I I think people love the 15-minute vacation, is because they get to go in and try a bunch of ice creams they wouldn't normally try. Um, and I think they're often surprised by what they find they like. Yeah, I think this is the this is really kind of a perfect mix um and a perfect stitch in the food quilt uh of Bentonville, the culinary food quilt, because this scene has been evolving for over a decade, um, certainly over a decade, um, but it's both approachable and elevated, right? And and thoughtful, but not stuffy. So, how does Clementines fit into this mix? Well, I I think we're offering Bentonville something they've they've never had before. I think um it's it's definitely upping the ice cream game in in a town that wants to be cool, right? There's so many cool things happening in the culinary world world in Bentonville, and this just adds to it. I mean, Bentonville's, you know, a first-class Midwestern town, right? And so they deserve to have all of the best things like everyone else does. And so I think we're it we fit in really nicely and and perfectly there. Well, what's cooler than ice cream? Not much, right? Um everybody loves it, yeah. And and I I think also, too, the ability, because we have so many non-dairy options for people who can't have dairy. We have a massive cult following for our vegan non-dairy ice creams that you can't tell are not dairy ice creams. And so I think we also pay attention to a lot of customers and consumers that most people ignore when it comes to ice cream parlors. And so the fact that we have gluten-free and dairy-free, you know, we have something for everyone. Um, my philosophy has always been every child in this country deserves to have ice cream. And so I need to make an ice cream that's good for 99.9% of those kids. I absolutely love it. I've got a I've got a 13-year-old vegan daughter that came to that on her own decision. Um and a gluten-intolerant 16-year-old son. And this is uh so it's it is pretty special to have someone thinking about that. And are there different flavors here in in different stores? Like, do you have a different offering here than you do in in St. Louis? Nope. Nope. We have the same offering everywhere. We do um a lot of collaborations with folks um in the different markets that we're in. So when we create a Bettonville flavor, which we have, right, um, and and we're doing again, then we we proudly promote that it's a Bettonville flavor in Kansas City and St. Louis and Illinois, you know. So we try to have the same ice cream flavors everywhere. I think Markham and Fitz is one of the collaborations, right? I love Markham and Fitz. Um Markham and Fitz is a local chocolatier. Again, they make the chocolate at 8th Street Market. That is taken out to other Clementines, not unbelievable. Yep, yep. I mean, when I do collaborations, part of the privilege of the role that I have and and Clementine's ice cream is that we get to rising tides raises all shifts. And we get to lift everyone with us. And so I love supporting other women entrepreneurs, I love supporting other local small businesses. So we collab where wherever we can and whenever we can. Um, and I think it's really important. I think it's important to lift everyone. I know we did Markham and Fitz last year. We're um collaborating, we're super excited. This is kind of top secret that's just coming out now because I'm gonna blab it right now. We are collaborating for our holiday cookie collection with Nellie B's, which is a really cool independent bakery. Um, she is amazing, she's an amazing chef, amazing baker. Um, and we're gonna collaborate this year. So we're working on uh flavors for a really big collaboration for our holiday cookie collection with Nellie B's. And so I'm super super we just finalized it this past week and I'm super excited for it. That is wonderful. And she's a specialty bakery in in town, right? I think she's an Elkins. Um but she does she does a huge emphasis on gluten-free items as well as her other, some of her other items, you know, are just superb. I got to have an awesome tasting this last week. Um, because that's a fun part of my job, is I get to eat sweets all the time. Um, so yeah. Well, if you need somebody to uh, you know, if you need some sort of contract taster, I am available. I have a few windows. Thank you. Thank you. Bentonville, Bentonville is full of people building new things, trying new things. Um I mean, our our founding economic father, Sam Walton, was always trying new things, and Walmart is still doing that. Do you see that energy in your employees? Do you see that energy in your customers? Yeah, I I do. I I think Bentonville is a town that's have evolved and grown and changed. And I think there's this really amazing spirit, really open to change. And I can tell you, you know, from being in markets in some cities that don't like change a lot, it's be it's awesome. It's fun to be in Bentonville in in a an environment where everyone is excited about change and growth and trying new things and doing things different. It's it's it's really fun to be in that environment. It's it's it's exciting for me. You know, you've you've mentioned a few times about this user experience and the way that that you approach that and think about the user experience all the way from the mouthfeel to um the mini vacation, if you will. And Clementines in Bennville has some distinct customers, some distinct segments. You've got folks that work at the Walmart Home Office, you've got just residents like myself who are gonna spend time on that 8th Street corridor. And I mean, we are a vacation destination. What does that blend look like? Are those different experiences, similar experiences? I think the ice cream experience and how we provide it is the same across those things. You know, we we call it the organoleptic experience. So we've curated an organoleptic experience in our shops. It really deals with your five senses. So it doesn't matter if you live there, you work there, or you're a tourist coming through, you're gonna walk into Clementines and have a really unique experience. So everything you see, everything you hear, everything that's said, the smells in the shops, how they look, every surface that you touch has been curated so intentionally because we want you to feel like you walked into a magical place. We want you to feel and know, and you're tasting the best ice cream you've ever had. And so I think curating that experience is is great for everyone. And it's not really different for for anyone. For the tourists, it just validates what a great experience they're having in Bentonville. Oh, that's a wonderful that's wonderful. When can I go there? What are the hours? We are open seven days a week, Sunday through Thursday from noon to 10 p.m. And then Friday and Saturday, we're open from noon to 11. And so that's the also the beauty of our business is that we are open and we are serving all of the communities seven days a week. So you know that hey, if it's Easter, you're gonna and you're tired of Aunt Sally and you're like, let's get out of the house, we're gonna be open for you. No offense to Aunt Sally. She's good. No offense to Aunt Sally. So uh if someone hasn't been yet, I was gonna ask, what should they order? But what would you order? I would try lots of different flavors. Right. And try things you wouldn't necessarily normally try, just for the experience of trying it. But you definitely gotta order the gooey butter cake. The gooey buttercake ice cream, you know, I invented that ice cream, I made it famous, and the country, you know, that's what got us on Oprah's O list and on national television. Like, we win all the national awards. Like our gooey buttercake ice cream is the best thing around. So you gotta, you gotta definitely order a gooey buttercake. Um, and then I I really encourage people to try one of the non-dairy flavors because most of the time people don't know they're actually non-dairy. It's it's a special skill that that we have that you can't really taste the difference. So I say try gooey buttercake, a dairy, and try a non-dairy. I cannot wait for my sister and mother to come and visit because my mother raised us on gooey buttercakes. Yep. And other things, but you know, hopefully broccoli here and there, but gooey buttercakes for sure. Yes. So when somebody leaves for the first time, what do you hope that they leave with when they're leaving Clementines? I hope that they leave with feeling like they had a really special experience, served by some people who are really kind and nice and who care and love and have a passion for ice cream. Tamara, thank you so much. That is a wonderful wish for all of your customers. Is there anything else you would like to share with us on this podcast today? No, we're just excited to be in Bentonville. We're we're growing, you know, we're planning on opening a parlor in in Rogers and a parlor in Fayetteville. So, you know, we're we're gonna grow, grow as well. Um, so we're just excited to to be a part of it and be part of the larger extended Bentonville community. That's right. Right now, Northwest Arkansas, come to Bentonville for Clementines. We're happy to host you. Uh, you can have a staycation right here in Bentonville and go to Clementines. In fact, you can meet me for lunch at Clementines in about 20 minutes. I love it. That's a thing. Make sure you tag us when you post it. Absolutely, I will. Thank you so much. Cannot wait to have more and more ice cream. Appreciate your investment in the food landscape of Bentonville, Arkansas. Thank you. I'm so honored to be there. Have a great day. Thank you for joining us. Ready to explore Bentonville? Check out visitbentonville.com for dining guides, event calendars, and trip planning tools. Follow us on social media and subscribe to our newsletter. Links are in the show notes. Thanks for listening to a new American Town.