MILLIE'S HOMEMADE ICE CREAM

246 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream was established in 2015 with the mission of making ice cream using fresh in-season flavors and locally produced milk and eggs. The Market Square location is the second retail shop with more planned. The space is very small (620 SF) and is in a storefront of a recently constructed high-rise mixed-use building, The Gardens at Market Square/ Tower 260. The design intent was to preserve as much open space as possible while providing essential back-of-house support. The scheme is purposefully minimalist with emphasis on the store graphics, staff members and the activity of making cones and scooping ice cream. Ductwork is well executed and exposed, decorative lighting is bold, and surfaces are clean. The atmosphere is bright, lively and smells good. Major materials include painted gypsum drywall, rectangular ceramic tile, painted concrete masonry, a polished ground-face concrete floor and the aluminum curtain wall façade. Horizontal surfaces are butcher-block work surfaces and marble pattern quartz counters with custom powder-coated steel support legs. Tempered glass panels mounted on substantial chrome posts screen the dipping case. Lighting is very basic and deliberate with recessed LED downlights and large diameter pendant globe fixtures.