Little Man Ice Cream Factory opening in Sloan’s Lake this Saturday

If good things come to those who wait, then we can expect spectacular things from the new Little Man Ice Cream Factory, originally slated to open last summer.

First of all, it’s an ice cream factory, which is pretty spectacular in and of itself. But this isn’t just any ice cream factory. This is an ice cream factory filled with a hand-carved slide, a suspended conveyor-belt bucket-delivery system, baked goods and magic. And if you don’t believe in magic, there’s still the ice cream.

The 7,000-square-foot factory/tasting room/bakery is about a block from Sloan’s Lake on West Colfax Avenue, and it opens to the public Saturday, July 6. (The factory portion, however, has been churning Little Man ice cream for a year now.)

“We’re proud of our product, so this is an opportunity to let people see how the products they’ve come to love come into existence,” said Dom DiCarlantonio, Little Man’s area manager. “It (the Little Man Ice Cream Factory) captures somebody’s attention and lets them fully experience it with all their senses.”

The Factory is a sort of art-deco laboratory, designed to resemble the insides of an old-fashioned ice cream churn. You walk in through a “freezer” and enter the churn, where the scoop shop, ice cream production facility, slide and conveyor-belt ice cream-delivery system (made from an old dry cleaner’s belt) compete for your attention.

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Besides the salted Oreo ice cream that Little Man fans already love, the scoop shop will sell baked goods made on-site, branded schwag and rotating, special plated desserts. (First up: a buttermilk panna cotta with thyme ice cream, peach compote and graham crackers.) If you like to sample a little of a lot, the five-flavor flights are the way to go.