A popular ice-cream food truck in Forney is expanding to a storefront and just in time for Christmas: Called Mix It Up Creamery, it'll open at 301 Marketplace Blvd. #311, a few miles from where the food truck has held court at 18222 FM 740 since summer 2022.

Mix It Up has built a following for the superb creaminess of its ice cream and for its signature waffle bowls: like a waffle cone but molded into a bowl shape, the mold for which owner Bruce Moore fashioned himself.

Taking a cone and transforming it into a bowl allows it to hold a generous serving of ice cream - what Moore calls "three healthy scoops" - plus toppings ranging from hot fudge to brownies, nuts, and candies.

Moore relocated to Texas with his family during the pandemic, taking the money they made from selling their home in Oregon to launch Mix It Up. He previously worked in food manufacturing for Tillamook, the Oregon-based dairy company, and that's what he uses for his ice cream.

"They don’t use any whey crème – it’s all sweet crème, and the creaminess of the ice cream is really unmatched," he says.

Ice cream flavors include Dutch chocolate, chocolate chip cookie dough, mint chocolate chip, rocky road, caramel butter pecan, cookies n cream, strawberry, and vanilla.

Don’t let the name fool you: Mix It Up is not a Cold Stone-style creamery, where servers pound and combine toppings into a ball. The presentation at Mix It Up is that of a traditional ice-cream parlor with cones and their waffle bowls, which can be build-your-own or in 11 suggested combinations such as:

• Birthday Cake, with vanilla ice cream, rainbow sprinkles, brownie bits, and chocolate sauce
• J-Dub, with Dutch chocolate ice-cream, Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups, and peanut butter and chocolate sauce
• Sass-A-Frass, with strawberry ice cream, cheesecake bites, and white chocolate sauce

Prices range from $4 to $8 and are based solely on cup size, not on the number of the toppings.

“One of my least favorite things about eating out is having to pay more for various ingredients," Moore says. "Our toppings are only limited by how many can fit inside the cup."

The shop is a new build, which has created some construction delays. But while they eagerly anticipate their opening, they're trying out new items such as their hot cocoa float - hot cocoa with a scoop of ice cream, good for cooler months. Whatever's a hit will be added to an expanded menu once the shop opens.