Carnival Barker's Is Open in Oak Cliff

Jefferson Boulevard continued its gentrification march earlier this week when Carnival Barker's Ice Creams opened its first standalone business in the Jefferson Tower project. The small storefront with a walk-up window is now selling the crazy flavors creator Aaron Barker has become known for, and for the rest of this weekend you can buy them 24 hours a day.

To mark the opening, Barker wanted to make his ice cream available to everyone, including the late-night stoners. The special hours will continue through Monday night, when the shop will stay open for a much more reasonable amount of time that Barker has yet to determine. His goal, though, is to be there when the last movie at the nearby Texas Theatre lets out. Stay tuned for specifics.

You'll have to bring cash for now, and there are a few other finer points that could use polishing. "I've been overwhelmed," Barker told me, describing the big push to open his second location by the start of summer. (His first is attached to Lowest Greenville's Truck Yard.) Barker said signs for the front of the building, more seating, plants and a credit card machine are all coming soon. 

More refrigeration is in the works, too. Right now the majority of the ice cream sold here is pre-packaged in small paper cups. Munching ice cream off a plastic spoon is fine and all, but nothing beats planting your face into a scoop that's perched atop a waffle cone in the middle of summer. Barker said he'll be getting a second freezer so he can dip more flavors, and then he'll start serving cones.

But first, he's got to sell some ice cream. "I can't buy anymore equipment now," he said. Based on the line extending from his window, that won't be the situation for long.