There is something about a small-town ice cream parlor; the smell of warm saccharine wafting in the air, cheery staff that make servicing swaths of people look like a breeze, and an invitingly dim-lit patio ushering you in as a summer day comes to a cool.

Selma’s Ice Cream Parlour in picturesque downtown Afton fits the bill. Located across from Steamboat Park, they have been a staple along the St. Croix for what seems like forever.

The shop, thought to be the oldest ice cream parlor in Minnesota, opened in 1910 as a frozen treat and confectionary store by Ed Holberg.

The building had been used for ammunition storage during the Civil War.

The moniker came when Ed married Selma Swanson in 1913. In the same tradition, the shop carries with it a sense of Americana nostalgia.

You can find old-fashioned candy, coffee amalgamations and of course, ice cream. Cones, malts, floats, cakes, you name it.

Whether you like monster cookie, moose tracks, peppermint bonbon, or Zanzibar, you have options.

Order online, call ahead, or hop in line to order from the window, Selma’s is worth the wait.