The State readers’ favorite ice cream shop comes with a side of tacos, and now it’s expanding

It doesn’t take long to make a good impression, especially when ice cream (and tacos) are involved.

IceCream Taco, the small shop that sells ice cream, shakes, tacos, chili dogs and more at 4884 Sunset Blvd. in Lexington, recently took home the title in The State’s 2022 Ice Cream Poll. There were 21 ice cream and frozen yogurt spots from across the Midlands competing in the poll, and more than 14,700 votes were cast in the contest.

In the end IceCream Taco, which has only been open since March, finished on top, grabbing 7,348 votes. The second-place finisher was Cold Stone Creamery, which garnered 5,315 votes in the poll.

IceCream Taco’s owner, former firefighter Sonia Norman, said she was thrilled the shop was a favorite of poll voters.

“I am super excited,” Norman said during a recent interview with The State at the Sunset Boulevard shop. “It’s an honor to have even been on the list knowing I’ve only been around four months. It might sound crazy but it felt like I won the presidential election. (Laughs.) It was a very, very big deal to me. I’m humbled, blessed and thankful.”

While IceCream Taco has only been in Lexington a few months, Norman already is expanding. She is opening a second location at 2719 Broad River Road in Columbia, inside King’s convenience store. The Broad River Road spot already has had several soft openings, and Norman said more regular hours will be coming soon.

Norman said the enterprise might see some more growth soon.

“I speak it all the time,” Norman said. “I want four (locations) by fall, God willing.”

While tacos and chili dogs are certainly a part of the shop’s repertoire — Norman said the chili dogs, in particular, have been gaining popularity lately — its ice cream sundaes have been a customer favorite at the Lexington location.

She said the strawberry cheesecake sundae has been a good seller. It has chunks of homemade cheesecake, strawberry cheesecake ice cream, strawberries, whipped cream and strawberry syrup. She also touted the triple chocolate deluxe sundae, which comes with brownie chunks, brownie batter ice cream, chocolate syrup and chocolate chips.

The shop serves Hershey’s brand ice cream. The Lexington location has more than 30 flavors, while the Broad River Road shop will have 24 flavors.

Norman smiles when asked if there is a curiosity factor at play when new customers come in, since the shop offers both ice cream and tacos, and makes that fact clear in its unique name.

“People are always quick to say, ‘IceCream Taco?’” Norman said, with a chuckle. “They want to say it a couple times. They can’t just say it once.”