Sadboy Creamery Is an LGBTQ+-Owned Ode to Nostalgia

"We want to be the ice cream you can grab when you're crying on the couch after a breakup, in times of celebration, and everything in between. We're here for all the fellow sad boys," says Michael Kimball, a chef, recipe developer and occasional Westword contributor who started the melancholic ice cream brand Sadboy Creamery in February and sold his first pints in May.

Now, playful flavors like Rainbow Unicorn Sherbet and Dirty Earl (an Earl Grey tea ice cream-based play on cookies and cream) line the freezers at a space above City, O' City, at 206 East 13th Avenue, where Kimball works his one-man ice cream shop out of a studio. Pints can be pre-ordered online from the Sad Boy website and picked up every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

When he's not handing out ice cream, Kimball spends his time researching and developing new flavors, with a focus on paying homage to his childhood favorites. (We hear that a Cookie Crisp-inspired flavor is in the works.) "It's important to take those simple nostalgic flavors and begin to elevate them," Kimball says. "As we mature and become adults, our tastebuds and palates mature with us, and often, those childhood treats like Dunkaroos that you knew and loved as a kid fall short when eating them in your twenties."
Kimball, whose mother also works in food research, used his food science skills to create perfectly thick and creamy ice cream. He explains how he tried various traditional techniques for making gelato, ice cream and custard, taking the best parts of each frozen treat to achieve his perfect pint. Through testing different churning methods and various ratios of milk and cream, he was able to nail down his technique.

Beyond the product itself, "Sadboy is probably the gayest ice cream in Denver," Kimball says. "There is a lot going on right now in political and social spheres regarding LGBTQ+ issues, and I will always be an advocate for my community, and that will manifest itself in the voice of Sadboy and the choices I make in operating it."

Looking forward, Kimball is excited to develop more nostalgic flavors and hopes to start selling them in major grocery stores. A brick-and-mortar scoop shop is in the works as well.

Kimball also teaches cooking classes out of Stir Cooking School (3215 Zuni Street) on topics such as macaron and croissant techniques and, of course, ice cream making.

For more information about Sadboy Creamery, visit sadboycreamery.com or follow it on Instagram @sadboycreamery.