Phoenix shop goes lactose-free in bringing ice cream back

PHOENIX — On the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, Richie Dolan flew back to Phoenix from New York City with one craving: ice cream.

He navigated the eerily quiet streets to a nearby grocery store, filled a basket and later churned a batch in his kitchen. He left scoops for neighbors; they went crazy for it.

What they didn’t know was that the homemade treat was completely lactose-free.

The stars aligned for Dolan, who is lactose intolerant. A year later, that late-night craving became LIX Uptown Ice Cream , one of Arizona’s only fully lactose-free ice cream shops.

“The universe threw everything I needed at me,“ Dolan said. “No other time in my life has the universe just opened every door and put everything on a silver platter.”

It came at a time when lactose-free dairy products, as mar