How Kristi Burris went from dance to dessert: 'A weird moment that completely altered the course of my life'

Q: Where did the name “Cherry and Bark” come from?

A: The name comes from one of the first flavors Burris made, Cherry and Almond Bark, which features a fresh cherry compote, mixed with semi-sweet toasted almond bark in an almond-flavored vanilla base.

“It was actually one of the ones I created for myself,” Kerri Burris with Cherry and Bark said. “Growing up, chocolate almond was a favorite and then moving to Chicago, I loved Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. It was my way of melding the two together in getting my chocolate and almond in with my cherries.”

Q: You had a dance career before this. How did you go from tap dancing to ice cream making?

A: Burris took dance lessons when she was a child at a dance studio in Sapulpa. She turned that passion for dance into a career, tapdancing for two companies in Chicago and performing on some of the world’s biggest stages, including the Kennedy Center.

“It was one of those pinch-me moments,” Burris said.

Then one day, a shopping trip changed everything.

“It’s like the hard left that no one expected, least of all me,” Burris said. “It was an accident really, because I walked into a Williams Sonoma to buy something and ended up walking out with an ice cream maker.”

Q: What was the first flavor you made?

A: “It was a version of what we now sell as Chipped Chocolate,” Burris said. “That’s still one of my favorites. Making it gave me this little epiphany, I realized I could be creative with flavors but also had to learn the science behind it. It activated both sides of my brain.”

Q: Was it always the plan to open a shop in Tulsa?

A: Burris opened her brick-and-mortar in October 2024 near 18th and Boston. Before that, she started with a pushcart that she would bring to various places.

“I wanted to open up an ice cream shop in Tulsa rather than Chicago,” Burris said. “I don’t want to say people are nicer here because people are nice in Chicago. It’s a different type of nice here and I knew there was going to be a different kind of community support behind me, and boy was I not disappointed with that. I mean it’s been great the support I have gotten from it.”

Q: What flavors do you have on your menu?

A: Every flavor in the case tells a story and Burris doesn’t just dream them up. She lives them.

1. “Rosemarried Grapefruit and Pecans” was created for a wedding. It’s inspired by a Greyhound cocktail, minus the vodka.
2. “Slanty Shandy” features flavors like pineapple, passion fruit, coconut and lemon. It was inspired by a mocktail Burris had while traveling in Georgia.
3. “Superfood Brownies and Vanilla” is a collaboration with Tia’s Superfood Brownies.

Q: What ingredients do you use?

A: Burris tries to use local ingredients as much as possible, including strawberries from Stillwell, Oklahoma and Coffee from Boynton, Oklahoma.

“The ingredients are really such a huge part of that so we try to use local ingredients when we can,” Burris said. “Looking at the board, I think there’s 16 or 17 different local businesses and farms that we are supporting, including two farms in Michigan where we get the cherries from. The quality of the ingredients are just so important and I think it really does make a difference, and I think people can taste the time and the care and the love that’s put into that with those ingredients.”

Q: What do you love about ice cream?

A: “What I want the shop to be is a place to experience great ice cream with your friend or the community in general and walk out with that smile,” Burris said.

Open: Tuesday through Sunday from 12–10 PM. Closed Mondays.

Location: Near 18th and Boston

Ryan’s Flavor of Choice: Cherry and Almond Bark

Tip: Don’t skip the homemade waffle cones. They're homemade!