The journey of Tizzy K's began unexpectedly while Kelly Ireland and Tess Sullivan were watching Netflix's "Chef's Table" featuring Christina Tosi of Milk Bar, a New York City shop known for turning familiar desert treats upside down.

The show highlighted Tosi’s creation of cereal milk ice cream. Having just returned from extensive travels through Southeast Asia, Australia, and India, the couple was searching for their next adventure while working as servers and bartenders in Lowell, Massachusetts. “We got so excited about cereal milk ice cream,” Ireland said. “We were like, ‘Alright, let’s just go (to Milk Bar) this weekend, get our shifts covered, let’s go to New York!’" 

Their excitement quickly turned to disappointment when they arrived at Milk Bar. It only served one flavor of ice cream (corn flakes), it was soft serve, and it seemed expensive for a small. “We left there a bit disappointed,” Ireland shared. "But we’re in New York City, so we decided to Google, ‘Where can you get cereal milk ice cream?’ Like, who’s doing it? The idea exists in the world. Obviously, someone’s making it.” To their surprise, they found no one else making cereal milk ice cream in New York City or anywhere else in the country. 

“We came home from that trip just amazed that no one was doing the good flavors,” said Ireland. ‘We just started naming them to ourselves  — Trix, Golden Grahams, Cookie Crisp, Reese’s Puffs, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruity Pebbles.” Using a small Cuisinart home ice cream maker that could only produce one quart at a time, they decided to start with Golden Grahams — Tess’s childhood favorite cereal. 

What’s the ‘secret flavor?’

Central to their success was their association with Hope & Main — Rhode Island’s food business incubator. It provided them with pay-by-hour kitchen access and minimal upfront costs, plus the flexibility to rent storage space and avoid off-season expenses. It was the perfect stepping stone for a seasonal business finding its footing. 

However, scaling up production wasn’t simply about space and equipment. “Making cereal milk isn't like something you can just Google,” Ireland said. Each cereal presented unique challenges in their production process. Some cereals absorbed more dairy than others, while flavor intensity varied dramatically. The Fruity Pebbles proved particularly challenging. Pebbles cereal are made of rice kernels, which absorb and hold a lot of milk and reducing the resulting amount of cereal infused milk base essential for the ice cream.  

Tizzy K’s makes a limited run of every flavor and rotates flavors constantly. “We just decided to do a new menu every single day,” Ireland said. This approach has created a sense of excitement and urgency among customers. 

Adding to the intrigue, they maintain a “secret flavor” at both locations each day. These secret flavors often feature their more experimental combinations, maybe Golden Grahams with blueberry pie Oreos or Oreo puffs with mint Oreos for a grasshopper pie effect. 

While most ice cream shops have customers who say “I like mocha chip from this place,” Tizzy K's aims to create brand loyalty rather than flavor loyalty. “When I ask someone what their favorite ice cream is, I want them to say ‘Tizzy K’s,’ ” Ireland said. He wants customers to say “I love all their flavors.”

Therefore, at Tizzy K’s, sampling isn’t just encouraged — it’s an essential part of their customer experience. “We're really pro sampling,” Ireland said, “because we only have a few flavors, and it’s a unique concept. If you haven’t had it before, it’s fun to try them all, see which one you like.”  

Through persistent experimentation and refinement of their process, they’ve grown from an ice cream bike on the banks of the Providence River, to locations in Providence and Warren. They are now at a point where they’re ready to graduate from Hope & Main. Their next move is to open a production facility in Rumford, where Ireland anticipates they’ll be able to “basically do ten times the production in this new spot.” 

Sullivan and Ireland have successfully turned their curiosity for cereal milk ice cream into a thriving business. Their journey from a small kickstarter-funded venture to a growing brand with multiple locations highlights their commitment to quality and innovation. 

Visit Tizzy K’s before the end of the season at James & S. Water Street in Providence, and 747 Main Street in Warren, and don’t hesitate to sample each of their flavors!