The Inside Scoop on Milky Moo’s: Meet the Maker of Alabama’s Best Ice Cream
More than just a pit stop, Milky Moo's Creamery in Enterprise has become a destination for ice cream lovers. Meet the head of the Moo Crew, Elizabeth Shanks! Image: Milky Moo's
With more than 100 ice cream flavors made from scratch, Milky Mooβs Creamery in Enterprise has earned its place as one of Alabamaβs sweetest destinations. Recently named Guide to Alabamaβs βBest Ice Cream in Alabamaβ for the second consecutive year, owners Elizabeth and Adam Shanks continue the shopβs 21-year tradition of churning out excellence in every scoop. The couple also owns Alabama Pecan Company, which ships Southern pecans worldwide and serves some of the best meals in town from its cozy cafe. We caught up with Elizabeth to talk entrepreneurship, family, and their next exciting venture!
How did you and Adam come to own Milky Mooβs?
In January of 2023, we heard that the original owner might be looking to sell. Adam and I volleyed the idea back and forth, but I never heard anything else about it. In February, while we were on our annual family trip to Walt Disney World for our wedding anniversary, I asked Adam if he had ever heard back from the owner. He laughed and said, βNo, I didnβt think you were serious.β I told him I had already built a vision board and that he needed to call.
By May 1, 2023, we were the proud new owners of Milky Mooβs. The shop is a staple in Enterprise, and we saw such an amazing opportunity to preserve what people loved about Mooβs while also adding our own ideas and personality.
What was it like learning that Milky Mooβs had been voted the βBest Ice Cream in Alabamaβ two years in a row?
THRILLING! Amazingly enough, I was sitting in the same spot at Milky Mooβs when we received the news both times β¦ maybe thatβs my lucky spot. It is such a huge honor, and I feel so proud of our team. Our Moo Crew is the reason for our success.
What makes Milky Mooβs ice cream so darn good?
We are considered a super premium ice cream. This means that our ice cream has more than 14% butterfat, while most other ice creams have 10% to12%. Our ice cream also has less than 50% air added back, so you get a very rich, creamy ice cream every time.
What does the Enterprise community mean to you?
Everything. A lot of our customers have also been a part of the Moo Crew and vice versa β including me! I have vivid memories of getting ice cream at Mooβs when I was in high school. I think itβs such a testament when adults who came as children now bring their children to share in those same memories.
Youβre not just ice cream people, youβre pecan people! Tell us about the Alabama Pecan Company.
Adam and I started Alabama Pecan Company in 2017 with a $4,000 investment that was left to us by my grandmother. What began as selling pecans online eventually grew into a storefront and restaurant in 2021, in the middle of COVID.
Since then, we transformed our original location into a packaging facility for our pecans and moved the restaurant and mercantile to share an alleyway with Milky Mooβs.
We just reopened our doors in Enterprise on June 4, 2026. From the beginning, we envisioned Alabama Pecan Company as a destination that would continue to grow and evolve in phases. We are currently in phase one, with 43 seats. Our second phase will expand our dining room to 100 seats and give us additional space for our pecans and other product lines. Plans are already in the works to begin the build.
Phase three has been top secret, right?
Yes! Phase three has been a surprise β¦ until now! After phase two, we will begin working on bringing a rooftop bar to Downtown Enterprise. We canβt wait to create a new space where people can meet friends and enjoy great food, drinks, and ambiance from a whole new perspective.
Running multiple family businesses while parenting young kids must be a constant juggling act. How do you balance it all?
I donβt know if anything is ever truly balanced. Some days, the businesses need me more. And some days, my family needs me more. Balance isnβt making sure that everything is getting equal attention all the time β itβs making sure that everyone never feels forgotten or unseen.
My husband and I are very fortunate that we enjoy working together, and our children have always grown up tagging along to events, meetings, and trade shows. At our first-ever event, our son, who was 6 months old, spent the entire time in a bouncy chair under our display table, with someoneβs foot bouncing him.
One of my (and Adamβs) greatest faults is chasing perfection. Running multiple businesses has taught me many things, but two of the biggest are learning to ask for help and that perfection isnβt always the goal.
If you werenβt making the best ice cream in the state, what would you be doing instead?
I think I wouldβve loved to have been a brand strategist. I love all the tiny details of a brandβs aesthetics and the story it tells. The creative process energizes me in ways I canβt explain. Any time Adam brings me a new idea, I have a logo, vision board, website name, and design ready in under ten minutes. I keep them all in a book for future use. Maybe one of these days, some of these other ideas will leap from the page into reality.
What do you like to do when youβre not working?
We are a Disney World family. Most people assume that we go so frequently for our kids, but itβs really for Adam and me. I absolutely love the creativity, attention to detail, storytelling, and incredible food that we enjoy on every single trip. I always leave inspired, and we always come back with a notebook full of business ideas.
Who or what is inspiring you right now?
Iβve always admired Ina Garten, and since her memoir came out, I have become mildly obsessed. She has a way of making the everyday extraordinary by creating beautiful, inviting spaces that make people want to stay and linger awhile, and then replicate those feelings in their own lives.
What is your best piece of advice?
Perspective can change everything. Very few situations are as permanent or devastating as they feel in the moment. Sometimes I just need to take a step back and see the bigger picture, then I can make better decisions, be a better person for my team, and enjoy the journey a lot more.
LIGHTNING ROUND!
Favorite ice cream flavor: Gingerbread
Last delicious local meal: Schnitzel with mushroom gravy and red cabbage at Alabama Pecan
Your go-to gift to give: A bottle of Champagne
Book(s) on your bedside table: Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gilling & The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas (I usually have at least five books beside my bed. I may have a problem.)
Three things you canβt live without: My French press, my Suburban, and my computer
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Katie Leigh Matthews
A Birmingham native, Katie is a lifelong waterfall chaser and is passionate about the outdoors. She also loves connecting with remarkable women in the Birmingham community and bringing their stories to life. Katie has been writing professionally for over six years; you can find more of her work at Moms.com and Islands.com.