Belts has been serving the Stevens Point area for 28 years.
Belts’ Soft Serve: Best ice cream joint
The Pointer
nmeye177@uwsp.edu
The Best of Point in some areas was a close call for the winner. This was not one of those areas. Belts’ Soft Serve has been voted best place to get ice cream in town. Considering the tents that appear every year in front of the shop at the beginning of March, it’s safe to say Belts’ is a hometown favorite and going there for the largest cone you’ll ever pay so little for has become a tradition.
“We are really happy; we get a lot of business from the university and most of our employees come from the university, so we’re very happy,” said owner Dan Racine.
Belts’ is known for its homemade ingredients, the fresh fruit they use in their ice cream dishes, the puppy cone and for being the home of the large cone. What more could college kids ask for?
“It’s really good; it’s really cheap, and they give you a lot of ice cream,” said junior Heather Grimm.
The small cone is literally the size of the large cone you receive at most places. All these things make it easy to see why people wait in gargantuan lines to fill up with the frozen treats. It’s easy to say they make ice cream a meal. The secret behind all this is hard work.
“Our most popular things are the items that include baked goods and fresh fruit,” said Racine. “We bake all our brownies, peanut butter cups, cookie dough everyday, because we use so much.”
Not only are the baked goods fresh, but so is the fruit. All the fruit used is Wisconsin grown and usually freshly picked. Every strawberry, raspberry and blackberry ripens right here in Wisconsin; then it’s picked and delivered, guaranteeing the taste is intact.
“Our fruit is never older than one day; we get it fresh everyday straight from the farmer,” said Racine. “Locally ripened fruit tastes better.”
Belts’ Soft Serve opened in 1981. It was opened by current owner Dan’s step-father whose last name is Belt.
“My dad opened it and ran it before me,” said Racine. “I’ve been running it about 18 years now and my son has worked there since he was eight, and he runs it now just as much as me.”
As much of a tradition as it is for the family, who start preparing for their March opening in February, Belts’ has become a tradition for many citizens as well. Every year campers appear the day before the opening. They wait sometimes in the bitter cold to be the first of the year to get a taste of the chilled masterpieces. According to Dan, it all started 10-to 12 years ago with a group of college kids.
“It started with three college kids; two of the guys were from Point and went to Point for college; since then, somebody has been there every year,” said Racine.
The devoted mindset of these campers is even a surprise to Dan himself.
“Two years ago I left to go home at about nine to get back to open at six or seven and on the way home, the weather was so bad it was like a blizzard, but sure enough, there were a few tents the next morning,” he said. “We appreciate it every year ... you look out at the crowd and ... we’re lucky.”
Belts’ Soft Serve is set to open this year on the first Friday in March, so unpack the tent.
