For Essex County residents, Bloomfield Avenue is something of a main strip — the Rodeo Drive of New Jersey, if Rodeo Drive swapped luxury designer brands for charming local businesses and connected over five towns. “The Ave” (as its affectionately dubbed by some locals) is dotted with hidden gems old and new, but rarely (if ever?) is one of these gems a tiny, walk-up milkshake shop with its own version of the Dairy Queen blizzard. Say hello to Shake Man, a new Verona business that checks all of these boxes, and then some. Opening its windows this summer, The Montclair Girl recently took a serendipitous trip to Shake Man, and we’re here to tell you all about it. Read on to learn more about Shake Man, Verona’s newest roadside creamery at 467 Bloomfield Avenue.
The Details
Shake Man opened the windows to its tiny Bloomfield Avenue location earlier this summer, marking the milkshake + ice cream shop’s second-ever outpost, with the first in New York City. Situated at 467 Bloomfield Avenue, the spot is sandwiched between two larger buildings that might make it missable to some — but attentive passengers and passersby will notice a cottage-like building decorated with strings of lights and signage depicting a mustached milkshake (presumably, the shake man).
Read More: A Visit to Holsten’s — The Bloomfield Ice Cream Shop from The Sopranos
For a small spot, Shake Man’s menu packs a mighty punch of Italian ices, ice creams, milkshakes, refreshers, specialty desserts, and Spoon Shakes, comparable to the Dairy Queen Blizzard (the only notable difference being it isn’t served upside down). We played it safe with a traditional chocolate milkshake and the Sweet Thang Spoon Shake, a thick shake made of vanilla soft-serve, M+M’s, Snickers, Twix, and Caramel Sauce. It melted quickly in the summer heat, but rest assured: it was delicious.
Although Shake Man is walk-up only, there’s an outdoor seating area for customers to enjoy — because the number 1 rule of ice cream is that it needs to be eaten ASAP. There are also order-ahead options through Door Dash, as well as delivery.
It seems like Shake Man isn’t the only new spot joining the area, either. Shake Man’s neighboring building displayed signage for “Mad Taco Express,” a Mexican restaurant coming to 588 Bloomfield Avenue “soon.” Not much is known about this upcoming eatery, but of course, we’ll keep you updated as details unfold (read: we’re plotting for a night of indulgence).
Shake Man is unique in its own right, but it’s certainly not unique in bringing great ice cream to the Montclair area. You can find our complete guide to North Jersey ice cream spots here.
See More: Unique Ice Cream Spots in Hoboken + Jersey City
You can keep up with Shakeman by following its Instagram — and stay up to date on the latest North Jersey happenings by following @themontclairgirl on Instagram and TikTok.
