Lollicup debuts self-serve ice cream, promptly sells out

To Nam Diep, adding new and innovative choices to a menu is just another day at work.

After introducing its new splitcup in January, Gainesville tea shop Lollicup, located at 3550 SW 34th St., started serving mochi ice cream on Feb. 20, said Diep, the shop’s owner. About a year ago, he noticed the dessert becoming popular in Asian-style mom-and-pop grocery stores in California and wanted to bring it to Gainesville.

Diep said the new addition has sold at a rapid rate, and Lollicup is currently selling around 1,000 pieces every day.

“We sold out in two days and couldn’t replenish our supplies fast enough,” he said.

Lollicup will receive a new shipment of mochi ice cream Wednesday.

Mochi is made of sticky rice, which is pounded until smooth, he said. The result is like dough, which is then wrapped around a ball of ice cream sold at $1.80 each.

“We spent the last three months doing some research by making our own mochi ice cream,” Diep said.

After realizing it would be too difficult to make mochi ice cream from scratch, Diep began taste-testing other brands — his favorite came from Hawaii.

“We order and overnight ship them and fell in love with the quality,” he said.

Jhon Jabieski, 34, and a chef at Arredondo Café, said he heard about the self-serve dessert through social media.

He tried the lychee and pistachio flavors for the first time on Saturday.

“The doughiness adds an extra depth of flavor,” he said.