About Us

DAIRY DREAM HISTORY  1953 - Present

In 1953, St John’s Dairy Dream began.  Rollie & Lavon St John followed their dream. The original building had 2 walk up windows. The menu consisted of vanilla soft serve, chocolate malt soft serve, 8 flavors of fruit toppings for sundaes and shakes, hot dogs and fountain pop. The World Famous Sloppy Joe began here! They were always striving to maintain excellent customer service, a tradition that is maintained today.

In 1966, Rex J St John (son of Rollie & Lavon) & Mona Pena St John started a homemade hand-dipped ice cream store in Muncie - Dairy Dream Inc., a production and retail store.  At that time, Dairy Dream of Albany added hand-dipped ice cream to their menu.

In 1978, Rollie St John passed away.  Two years later, Rex J purchased Dairy Dream of Albany from his mother, Lavon.  Rex J added a drive-up window, a triple headed twist soft serve ice cream machine, a slush machine and multiple microwaves. The BBQ sandwich, pizza and nachos were added to the menu.

In 1987, Rex J and Mona sold the Dairy Dream in Muncie. Rex J focused on operation and management of Dairy Dream of Albany.

In 1991, Rex H St John and his wife then, Angela Dawn, purchased Dairy Dream of Albany. Rex purchased a drive thru computerized order confirmation system and headset communications system. He added two Turbo Chef convection ovens and a second fountain pop machine. They purchased a Flavor Burst add-on unit for the soft serve equipment, allowing them to offer 8 additional flavors. Hawaiian Shaved Ice and ice cream cakes were also added to the menu. 

In 2024, Rex H retired from the family ice cream business and sold the business to the Gates family. Jason & Leslie Gates are proud to keep the Dairy Dream open for business. We are excited to keep the same recipes you all have loved in the past and will continue to bring the community the best ice cream around.