Dairy Dream, located on State Road 67 in Albany, Indiana, has been a family-owned business since 1953. We specialize in a wide variety of ice cream treats and food items, including our famous secret recipe sloppy joe sandwiches. Other favorites include our mouth-watering homemade root beer, ice cream blitzes, and so much more.
We are also available to cater for private functions, we have a birthday club, and we make specialty ice cream cakes for birthdays or other occasions. Please check the pages of our website for details and drop us a note if you have any questions. Or better yet, come on over to the store to say hello and enjoy the food.
DAIRY DREAM HISTORY 1953 – Present
In 1953, St John’s Dairy Dream enterprise began. Rollie & Lavon St John, sole proprietors, 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, Albany Dairy Dream added hand-dipped ice cream to their menu.
In 1978, Rollie St John passed away. Two years later, Rex J purchased Albany Dairy Dream from his mother, Lavon St John. Rex Sr. 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 Sr. and Mona sold the Dairy Dream in Muncie. Rex Sr. focused on operation and management of Albany Dairy Dream.
In 1991, Rex H St John Jr. and his wife then, Angela Dawn, purchased Albany Dairy Dream. Rex Jr. purchased a drive thru computerized order confirmation system and headset communications system. He added two Turbo ChefÒ convection ovens and a second fountain pop machine. They purchased a Flavor BurstÔ 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 2000, Rex Jr. purchased a concession trailer featuring Hawaiian shaved ice to cater to events in the local area and in surrounding counties. The Albany Dairy Dream concession trailer participates in the annual “Night of Fire” at the Muncie Drag Strip. Dairy Dream sells specialty sundaes and Hawaiian shaved ice.
Dairy Dream Recognition & Awards:
Muncie Area’s Finest 2005 – Ice Cream store category winner (by Muncie Star Press)
Muncie Area’s Finest 2006 – Ice Cream store category winner (by Muncie Star Press)
Taste of Muncie 2010 – Drink category winner “Homemade Root Beer”
Taste of Muncie 2011 – Drink category winner “Cotton Candy Mountain Dew”
Taste of Muncie 2012 – Food category winner “Homemade Sloppy Joe & Nachos”
Taste of Muncie 2012 – Winner “Best of Show”
In 2012, the reward promotion program was implemented for different levels of purchases. The program offers gift cards, tie dye t-shirts, RTICÒ Dairy Dream logo tumblers and fleece jacket embroidered with personalized name and Dairy Dream logo.
In 2014, Rex Jr. purchased a smoker, adding hickory smoked pulled pork and smoked potato.
2017 is the year to focus on social media: announcements, promotions, customer participation and customer service thru social media to our neighborhood, community and surrounding counties. I, Rex Jr. invite one and all to experience traditional, authentic homemade products from Albany Dairy Dream.
