Gourmet waffle, ice cream shop with a funny name opens second Northeast Florida restaurant

An artisanal waffle and ice cream parlor with the cool, zen-like llama mascot now has a second Northeast Florida dessert shop in northern St. Johns County — and more are on the way, including one planned for Jacksonville.

The Dolly Llama Waffle Master marks its grand opening Saturday, at The Fountains at St. Johns mixed-use development, 170 Fountains Way, Suite 4 in Saint Johns. There, the ice cream shop joins Grumpy's Restaurant, Green Papaya Thai & Sushi and Culver's. A new Jax Fish Fry seafood restaurant is also under construction.

The Saint Johns location is the first of up to four Dolly Llama locations that husband-and-wife franchise owners Stacy and Anthony Searcy of St. Augustine plan in Northeast Florida. The restaurant comes 10 months after franchise owners Josh and Wendy Popkin introduced the Los Angeles-based concept to Northeast Florida, opening the area's first Dolly Llama in Ponte Vedra Beach at 830 A1A N. in Tournament Plaza retail center.

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On the menu at Dolly Llama

The Dolly Llama Waffle Master features two styles of made-to-order waffles: Bubble and Belgian OG Liege. It offers at least 16 flavors of ice cream including four that are vegan, as well as nine sauces and 19 toppings, according to its online menu.

Ice cream flavors range from the classics — chocolate, vanilla and strawberry — to Ultimate Cookie Monster, Ube, Salted Caramel, Horchata, Mint N' Chip and Mango Sorbet. The sauces include White Chocolate Matcha, Nutella, Caramel and Speculoos.

Dolly Llama's waffles are made with authentic European flavors and techniques. Bubble waffles are created with a special batter that results in a crispy and custard-like texture. Belgian OG Liege waffles are flat and made with a yeast dough containing sugar pearls that caramelize.

Among the most popular signature waffle cones is Dolly's Dream, topped with Ultimate Cookie Monster ice cream, fresh strawberries, brownies and Nutella.

Other customer favorites include the Party Animal, featuring Salted Caramel ice cream, Kinder chocolate bar, circus animal cookies and chocolate sauce; and Sugar N' Spice, with Horchata ice cream, Speculoos cookies, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and caramel sauce.

The Dolly Llama also offers a rotating selection of limited-edition flavors, including July's Chunky CHIPS AHOY!, a Belgian OG Liege Waffle with salted caramel ice cream, hazelnut and cookie butter sauces, whipped cream and a whole cookie.

Milkshakes and ice cream by the scoop round out the menu.

Next stop: eTown and beyond

The Searcy's are in the process of opening their second Dolly Llama location at The Exchange at eTown, at 11003 eTown Parkway near Florida 9B and Interstate 295 in Jacksonville. The couple hasn't announced the other two future locations, but Stacy Searcy previously told the Times-Union that they wanted the sites to be in the Jacksonville and St. Augustine areas.

The 1,500-square-foot eTown ice cream shop will be at 11025 eTown Parkway, No. 204, in Exchange East in eTown Village, which is anchored by Publix. The city issued a building permit for the estimated $150,000 Dolly Llama project on July 3, records show.

The Searcys are veteran entrepreneurs. The couple owns insurance company offices in Nebraska and Kansas City, Mo., as well as some other, smaller businesses.

Opening the ice cream shops is about more than serving sweet treats. It's about serving the community, especially families, she previously told the Times-Union.

"We're trying just to build someplace that is in the communities that brings in all the kids who want someplace to go," she said. "We're trying to build a big enough space where kids can get a sweet treat and hang out for a little bit."

The Saint Johns restaurant is open noon to 8 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday and noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on Twitter @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at [email protected].

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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Dolly Llama Waffle Master opens waffle, ice cream shop in Saint Johns