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 it is 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 Verona business that opened up last summer and checks all of these boxes, and then some. The Montclair Girl took a serendipitous trip to Shake Man on a hot summer day, and we’re here to tell you all about it. Read on to learn more about Shake Man, Verona’s roadside creamery at 467 Bloomfield Avenue.
About Shake Man
Shake Man opened the windows to its tiny Bloomfield Avenue location in Summer 2023, 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.
Shake Man isn’t the only newer spot in the area, either. Shake Man’s neighboring building houses Mad Taco Express, a new Mexican restaurant at 588 Bloomfield Avenue.
^ Signage from August 2023
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 Northern New 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.
