Big Olaf Creamery
Gone. The FDA records the end precisely — production ceased July 1, 2022 — and a federal judge later ordered the company to pay $4 million to the victim's family. The brand never returned.
Last verified Nov 7, 2026
A Siesta Key institution from 1982, hand-churned in Sarasota's Amish community of Pinecraft and credited with some of Florida's first waffle cones. It ended abruptly, and for the gravest of reasons.
Filed under: Frozen & Dairy · the ’80s
📅 Timeline
- 1982Dennis and Nancy Yoder opened Big Olaf on Siesta Key, selling some of the first waffle cones in Florida.
- 1990The business changed hands; production settled in Pinecraft, Sarasota's Amish village, churned in small batch freezers.
- 2022A multistate listeria outbreak was traced to Big Olaf; production ceased July 1 and every flavor, lot and container size was recalled.
- 2022The CDC closed its investigation November 2: 28 illnesses, 27 hospitalizations, one death and one pregnancy loss across 11 states. Storefronts had already dropped the name.
❓ People also ask
What caused Big Olaf to close?
The 2022 listeria outbreak the FDA and CDC traced to its ice cream, which sickened 28 people across 11 states and killed one woman. Production stopped July 1, 2022 and never resumed; a federal judge later ordered the company to pay $4 million to the victim's family.
Are the Big Olaf shops still there?
The storefronts survived by changing names within weeks — two became Blue Pineapple and the Siesta Key location became Yoder's Southern Creamery — selling other makers' ice cream.
Is it related to other 'Big Olaf' ice cream businesses?
No. Same-name operations in Sag Harbor, New York and in Saskatchewan are unrelated; this page covers Big Olaf Creamery of Sarasota, Florida only.
🧾 Sources
- FDA, Outbreak Investigation of Listeria monocytogenes: Ice Cream (July 2022) (2022)
- NPR, Florida ice cream company Big Olaf recalls its products following a listeria outbreak (2022)
- ABC7 Suncoast, 2 Big Olaf stores rebrand as Blue Pineapple, will sell new ice cream (2022)
- Sarasota Observer, Big Olaf scoops up Main Street spot (2009)