BEMIDJI, Minn. — October 10, 2026 (Minnesota Nice News)
Big River Scoop sits on the corner where the main road comes into downtown Bemidji, so the first things a visitor sees are Lake Bemidji, Paul Bunyan, Babe the Blue Ox and a place to get ice cream. Jodi and I stopped in Saturday for an afternoon date. The giant statues stand right across the street beside the Tourist Information Center. Lake Bemidji spreads out behind them. Downtown starts at the front door. On a fall day it is a glorious place to share an ice cream cone.
Jodi eats gluten-free, and Big River Scoop had her covered from the cone up. She ordered two scoops of Praline Pecan, a gluten-free flavor, on a gluten-free sugar cone. Her review of the cone was one word: awesome.
I went the other direction. I ordered a waffle cone, which is the bigger one, and the shop makes them fresh each day. Mine held two scoops, Red Wine Chocolate Cake and Lemon Meringue, with rainbow marshmallows on top. Rainbow marshmallows are a topping for all ages and I will hear no argument.
We also carried two pints home. One is licorice. The other is Blue Moon, which we were told tastes like the milk at the bottom of a bowl of Froot Loops. That research is ongoing.
We went Dutch, and the day’s special helped. It was buy one, get one 50% off, and our total came to just under $25 with tip.
Gluten-free at Big River Scoop: a real cone and a real list
This is the part of the story Jodi wants you to read. Big River Scoop offers ice cream flavors and cones that are gluten-free and dairy-free, so everyone in the family gets a treat. For Jodi that meant a gluten-free sugar cone with two scoops on it, the same as anybody else in line.
The choices run deep. Chocolate Shoppe keeps a list of its flavors made without gluten, and Praline Pecan is on it. So are 11 flavors from Big River Scoop’s posted list:
- Old Fashioned Vanilla
- Strawberry
- Zanzibar Chocolate
- Maple Nut
- Exhausted Parent
- Coconut Almond Bliss
- Cotton Candy Twist
- Mint Chip
- Door County Cherry
- Pistachio Nut
- Fat Elvis
The shop posts a sign for customers with a food allergy or dietary restriction, and it is worth reading. It invites you to ask whether a flavor contains allergens and says staff can review the producer’s information to check. It notes the ice creams may be exposed to gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, tree nuts and peanuts. It also tells you to go ahead and ask your scoop chef for a clean scoop.
The sign adds one more tip: the pre-packed pints, when available, are the surest way to enjoy ice cream with minimal possibility of allergy contamination. The pint freezer carried labels for Black Licorice, Blue Moon, Strawberry, Exhausted Parent and more on our visit.
The dairy-free choices on the posted list include two Italian ices and an oat milk Blue Moon. Flavors vary by the day, so ask at the counter for that day’s gluten-free list and the gluten-free cone.
A marathon finish and a full house
We also timed it well. Saturday was the day of the Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon, and the shop is near the finish line. We walked in as the only customers. Within minutes there were 12 people in the shop as runners finished the race. The counter kept right on scooping.
It is hard to think of a better reward for running 26.2 miles than ice cream with a view of a giant blue ox. It is also a fine reward for standing near people who ran 26.2 miles, which was our approach.
We give Big River Scoop two thumbs up.
24 flavors, Babe’s Raft and Paul’s Canoe
The shop scoops 24 flavors of super-premium ice cream, and some of them come from Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream in Madison, Wisconsin, a family company that has made ice cream since 1962.
The menu speaks fluent Bemidji. Babe’s Raft is three mini scoops for people who want to try a few flavors. Paul’s Canoe is five mini scoops for people who want to try a bunch and pick a favorite for next time. A regular scoop comes in a bowl, a cake cone or a sugar cone. The waffle cone also comes dipped in chocolate.
The flavor names are half the fun. Kitty Kitty Bang Bang is cheesecake ice cream with raspberry and Oreo cookies. Fat Elvis, Exhausted Parent and Yippee Skippee are on the shop’s posted list too. So are the fall flavors: Witches Brew, Snap O Lantern and Caramel Apple Pie.
The menu also lists old-fashioned shakes and malts, and coffee served hot or with a scoop of ice cream in the cup. Minnesota has found a way to put ice cream in coffee, and we support it.
The shop displays a 2024 Voted No. 1 Best of the Bemidji Area badge from the Bemidji Pioneer and BuyLine.
Big River Scoop history: three owners and one corner
Dan and Mayana Rice opened Big River Scoop in 2014 at 219 Bemidji Ave. N, according to the Bemidji Pioneer. Dan Rice told the newspaper at the opening that the name honors the Big River and the heritage of the region, and that he saw the shop as an entry point to downtown.
Tom and Nancy Schwartz bought the shop in 2016, the Pioneer reported. They later sold it to the Occupational Development Center, a nonprofit founded in 1971 that provides employment to people with disabilities.
Brad Fitzgerald, the center’s chief financial officer, told the Pioneer the shop would keep serving Chocolate Shoppe ice cream and that people the center serves may work there as job training.
A poster inside the shop puts it this way: “Behind every cone is a mission that matters.” It says customer support helps create jobs and build independence for the people the center serves. That makes a second scoop a civic duty.
A flavor that gives back
Big River Scoop runs a Flavor of the Month program that pairs one flavor with a local organization. The shop makes a donation based on that flavor’s sales for the month. Community partners include Great River Rescue, the Headwaters Science Center, Northwoods Habitat for Humanity, the Bemidji Area Senior Center and the Boys and Girls Club of the Bemidji Area.
The shop also takes its ice cream on the road. Groups such as the Bemidji Marching Band Boosters supply volunteers to scoop at events like Art in the Park and the Dragon Boat Festival, and Big River Scoop makes a contribution to the group in return.
If you go
What: Big River Scoop
Where: 219 Bemidji Ave. N, Bemidji, across the street from Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox
When: The shop closes soon for the season and opens again next year. Call ahead for hours.
Cost: Our two cones and two pints came to just under $25 with tip on a buy one, get one 50% off day
Contact: 218-444-3898, bigriverscoop.com. E-gift cards are sold on the website all year.
Minnesota Nice News paid for this visit. We review the places we recommend.
Know a place worth a date? Reach the Newsroom.
Writing By: Gregory Moyer | Editing by Jodi Moyer
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Sources
Big River Scoop
Big River Scoop, Home — Supports the address, phone number, 24 flavors of super-premium ice cream, the gluten-free and dairy-free options, the 2024 Best of the Bemidji Area badge and the e-gift cards.
Big River Scoop, Menu — Supports Babe’s Raft, Paul’s Canoe, the bowl and cone choices, the fresh-made and dipped waffle cones, the shakes and malts and the coffee served with a scoop.
Big River Scoop, Community — Supports the Flavor of the Month donation program, the named community partners and the volunteer scooping at Art in the Park and the Dragon Boat Festival.
Owners and history
Bemidji Pioneer, Here’s the scoop: Popular Bemidji ice cream shop has new owner — Supports the 2014 opening by Dan and Mayana Rice, the 2016 purchase by Tom and Nancy Schwartz, the sale to the Occupational Development Center, the center’s 1971 founding and Brad Fitzgerald’s statements.
Bemidji Pioneer, Chamber Ambassadors congratulate Big River Scoop on new owner — Supports the Occupational Development Center’s purchase from Tom and Nancy Schwartz.
Bemidji Pioneer, A local scoop; Ice cream shop Big River Scoop to open downtown — Supports Dan Rice’s explanation of the shop’s name and his view of the shop as an entry point to downtown.
The ice cream
Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, About Us — Supports the Madison, Wisconsin, location and the family company making ice cream since 1962.
Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, Flavors — Supports Praline Pecan and the 11 listed flavors appearing on the company’s without-gluten list.
The marathon
halfruns.com, Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon Weekend — Supports the race name and its Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, date.
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