A new dessert destination has opened in downtown Bay Minette, giving residents of North Baldwin County a sweet reason to stop in — and a nod to a piece of local history that no longer stands.
WaterTower Creamery, located at 708 D’Olive St., opened its doors on Aug. 1 and has already built a steady following in its first few weeks. The shop is owned by Michael Carter and Robert Karcz, a Bay Minette couple who previously ran the American Pride Petroleum gas station before selling that business in 2024. After taking time off to travel internationally, the pair decided to return home and start something new.
“I’m just glad to be back in Baldwin County and being back in Bay Minette doing something I love, like being with people,” Carter said.
An Homage to a Local Landmark
The shop’s name honors the concrete water tower that once stood over Bay Minette. Built in 1915, the structure was one of only two of its kind ever built in the United States, making it a distinctive piece of the city’s skyline for decades. It was later torn down to make way for upgrades at the local correctional center — a loss Carter felt personally, since the tower was a familiar sight during his daily drives to American Pride Petroleum.
Carter said the idea for the shop’s name came to him even before the business was official. While he and Karcz were on their way to sign a supplier contract with Cammie’s Old Dutch Ice Cream, he already knew what he wanted to call the new venture.
“I told (Karcz) if we get this, I want to name it WaterTower Creamery because I just love the name. I love the water tower,” Carter said. “To me, that just always felt like home. That always felt like Bay Minette.”
More Than 30 Flavors
WaterTower Creamery serves roughly 32 flavors of ice cream along with four sorbet options. The lineup includes crowd-pleasers such as Biscoff, banana pudding, cookie monster, birthday cake, cotton candy and bubble gum. Beyond scoops, the shop offers milkshakes and a specialty item called ice cream nachos, made with crushed waffle cone pieces served alongside two scoops of ice cream.
The shop is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 9 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. Carter said they plan to extend hours on select Fridays during Baldwin County High School home football games, giving fans a place to grab a treat before or after kickoff.
For a city that lost a beloved landmark, WaterTower Creamery offers a new gathering spot that keeps its memory alive — one scoop at a time.