Entry No. 219 — the Denver file — filed under: ice-cream
Sweet Action Ice Cream
“The freezer door at the back isn’t a freezer.”
A beloved Denver scoop shop churning small-batch flavors that lean gleefully strange — Stranahan’s Colorado whiskey brickle, burnt-honey sesame toffee, salted golden Oreo — with a deep vegan bench and pint labels designed by local artists. The Uptown counter scoops gloriously late, well past midnight on weekends. And it keeps a secret: the unmarked walk-in freezer door at the back opens onto Retrograde, a space-themed cocktail lounge hidden behind the cones.
The move: Build a flight of the weirdest flavors on the board — whiskey brickle, anyone? — then, if you know the trick, slip through the freezer door into Retrograde for a cosmic cocktail.
📍 Before you go The Uptown shop sits on E 19th Ave, an easy walk from downtown. Flavors rotate constantly and the vegan options are real, not afterthoughts. The unmarked walk-in freezer door at the back is the entrance to Retrograde — no reservations, parties capped at five, so go early on weekend nights.
- 📍 North Capitol Hill / Uptown
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 530 E 19th Ave, Denver, CO 80203
Hours: Uptown shop scoops late — roughly Mon-Fri 2pm-12:30am, Sat-Sun noon-12:30am in summer; hours shift seasonally, so confirm before a midnight run.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4
last checked: 2026-06-24