Lake Erie Scoops, a Grab-and-Go Treats Shop, to Open in Gordon Square

Jennifer Taggart worked off and on at Sweet Moses for nearly a decade while working full time in a lab and going to school. At the beloved Gordon Square sweets shop, she was a part-time soda jerk and ice cream maker. When Sweet Moses closed in 2021 after 10 years in business, Taggart felt her entrepreneurial spirit awaken, she says.

“I heard, just like everybody else, that Sweet Moses was closing,” Taggart explains. “Living in the neighborhood, I definitely felt the void of a treats shop. Since last winter, I’ve been trying to think how to start an ice cream shop, but I had a full-time job at a local lab. But last summer, the lab laid off 70 percent of us so I was like, okay, now’s the time.”

Since then, Taggart has been testing, tinkering and planning her future ice cream shop. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when she signed a lease for the former Big Momma’s Burritos space (6604 Detroit Rd.) in Detroit Shoreway. Come February, Lake Erie Scoops will welcome its first customers.

Taggart describes the business as a grab-and-go sweets shop specializing in premium ice cream, pie and other fun surprises. With the motto “frozen treats rediscovered,” Lake Erie Scoops will offer homemade versions of cherished childhood novelties like popsicles, creamsicles, fudgesicles, push-ups and nutty buddies.

“Think ice cream truck treats but homemade,” says Taggart. “Our vibe will be Saturday morning cartoons meets an ice cream truck.”

Ice cream will be sold in scoops, pints and flights of various flavors. The shop will offer sundae-making kits with toppings like nuts, sprinkles and sauces to be assembled and enjoyed at home.

Maeve Triton of Wild Peony Baking Company, another Sweet Moses alum, will be baking custard, fruit, chess, sugar and seasonal fruit pies, available by the slice or whole. Rounding out the selection will be “penny candy” and novelty sodas.

Through sheer luck, Taggart winded up with the iconic Sweet Moses blade sign. It will hang in the new shop as a tribute to her former employer.

“We want to celebrate our roots,” says Taggart.

Look for Lake Erie Scoops to open in time for Valentine’s Day.

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