Gunther's Ice Cream Named Best In California By Food And Wine Magazine

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - A Sacramento summertime tradition is receiving major recognition tonight.

A national magazine says the state's best ice cream is right here in the capital city.

We're getting the scoop on what makes Gunther's Ice Cream so good.

This is how the sweetness starts:

"We dump it into the machine and add in all the ingredients," said Gunther's manager Brad Realmuto.

Gallon after gallon of Gunther's ice cream.

"In the summertime, we're making 1,000-1,200 gallons a day," said Realmuto.

That's enough to fill two huge floor-to-ceiling freezers. It's been churned here in Sacramento for more than 80 years and not much has changed over the decades.

"It's pretty much the same way as Gunther's did it when they first opened," said Realmuto.

But now, the local tasty treat is getting national attention. Food and Wine magazine named Gunther's the best ice cream in California.

"Wow, I would agree," said customer Stephanie Clark.

"It's delicious; it's really good," said customer Maurine Keffer.

And employees are honored by the recognition.

"It just feels amazing," said Gunther's supervisor Aaron Cabral.

"There's a lot of good ice cream shops out there, especially in California, so we're super excited," said Realmuto.

So what's their secret?

"There is no secret recipe. Honestly, it's just old-fashioned creamy ice cream," said Cabral. "We don't try to fix something that doesn't need to be fixed."

But it's no mystery why people keep coming back.

"They get the ice cream and it makes their day so much better," said Cabral.

"You gotta have ice cream if you're going to have a smile,' said Clark.

All the exposure has been good for business.

"It looks like we're having quite a bit of customers already," said Cabral.

For Gunther's,  the best reward may just be seeing new generations of families that have been customers for decades.

"I get it all the time...people are like, 'my mom used to take me here all the time, I remember it's the same as it was when I was little,'" said Cabral.

Gunther's offers more than 60 different homemade flavors of ice cream, along with fruit freeze and shaved ice.