Little Man Ice Cream really likes its giant novelty buildings. The ridiculously popular ice creamery will be expanding east to Stapleton in 2017, where the company plans to build a giant airplane wing... which also will serve ice cream.
"It’s going to be called Constellation -- and the kind of theme behind the whole thing is the old Stapleton airport that used to be there," said Chelsea Berman, kitchen manager for Little Man, referring to the commercial airport that preceded Stapleton. (See the area's transformation from space!)
The dairy wing will be 65 feet long, Berman said. It seems to be named after the Lockheed Constellation, a World War II workhorse that became one of the iconic mid-century airliners.
The wing would be so long that it would stick out over the property line, extending by about 13 feet over the sidewalk at a height of 20 feet, according to documents filed with the city.
A city council committee has basically signed off on the idea, but it's not fully approved yet. Here's what it would look like, apparently complete with engines.
All this will be just west of Havana Street and MLK Jr. Boulevard.
The shop will stand at 10155 East 29th Drive, part of the new Eastbridge development. Little Man will be joined there by the Kitchen Next Door, Los Chingones, a breakfast place from Troy Guard, and a restaurant by Lon Symensma, according to Eater Denver.
Constellation, the Little Man outpost, should be open by some time "later in 2017, definitely," Berman said. It'll have all the same ice cream as the Little Man in Highland, but they'll be serving and seating customers inside. (There also will be a courtyard for you outdoor lactose lovers.)
Little Man also will open a new store front and central kitchen early in 2017 near West Colfax Avenue and Tennyson Street, "where people can buy ice cream and watch us make it," Berman said.
Little Man owner also is opening Sweet Cooie's another ice cream parlor, in Congress Park, reportedly around Valentine's Day.
Maybe it will look a bit like this?
This Constellation was mounted above a building in Florida. So, imagine just the wing, and also it's filled with salted ice cream.
