Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, the nationally beloved brand known for its made-from-scratch dairy and vegan ice creams, will open a scoop shop in New Canaan on Thursday, December 14.
The New Canaan store is the brand’s third location in Connecticut, following its Darien location (opened April 2023) and Greenwich location (opened October 2022), which was its first suburban scoop shop. The launch also marks a return to its roots for co-founders Ben and Pete Van Leeuwen who are Fairfield County natives and whose ice cream journey began here twenty years ago.
Van Leeuwen has teamed up with esteemed local restaurant Elm on a signature Cognac & Black Truffle Dulce de Leche sauce topping, available only on Opening Day. There will also be a giveaway with personalized keepsakes brand Monogram Mary where ten lucky winners will get a custom monogrammed ice cream mug which entitles them to free scoops in the mug through the end of the year.
Opening day hours on Thursday, December 14 are 12pm-10pm. In celebration of the opening, the shop will offer $1 scoops on opening day from 3pm-5pm. The first 100 customers will receive a free tote.
Van Leeuwen’s New Canaan scoop shop is located at 88 Elm Street and will be open daily. Guests can enjoy their treats at the scoop shop or order pints for takeout or delivery.
Ben and Pete became ice cream entrepreneurs back in 2002. The brothers rented a Good Humor truck and drove it all around Greenwich for two summers. With the money he made, Ben went backpacking around Asia and Europe, and found himself most excited by the food he discovered and the revelation that good food was more accessible in other parts of the world. His travels inspired the idea for an ice cream truck serving good ice cream. Not long after, they enlisted co-founder Laura O’Neill and Van Leeuwen was born in the form of a yellow scoop truck on the streets of NYC in 2008. Its French-style ice cream (made with more than double the amount of egg yolks as standard ice cream) quickly gained a loyal following, and Van Leeuwen has since expanded into storefronts in New York, California, Colorado, Connecticut, DC, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Texas, as well as grocery stores across the country, including Stop & Shop and Whole Foods. Van Leeuwen’s goal — to make good ice cream that makes you feel good — also extends to its vegan options, which are made with simple recipes and choice ingredients. It’s not “vegan ice cream,” it’s good ice cream that happens to be vegan!
The extensive menu features more than 30 signature flavors including Honeycomb, Pistachio (made with Pistachios sourced from Mount Etna in Sicily), Marionberry Cheesecake (made with vine-ripened berries from Oregon farm partner Stahlbush Island Farms), Praline Butter Cake and Earl Grey Tea (made with Rishi Tea), in addition to sundaes, housemade waffle cones, ice cream sandwiches, root beer floats, milkshakes and pints to-go. Popular vegan flavors include Churros & Fudge, Peanut Butter Brownie Honeycomb, Strawberry Shortcake and more.
Ben Van Leeuwen, co-founder and CEO, said, “Connecticut holds a special place in my heart – not only did I grow up here, but it’s where my ice cream journey first began back in 2002. So, I am super excited to be opening our third scoop shop in my hometown state in just over a year. We can’t wait to come to New Canaan and bring the community good ice cream made with good ingredients that makes you feel good.”
Van Leeuwen is known nationally for creative seasonal and out-of-the-box limited-edition collaboration flavors such as Hidden Valley Ranch, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and BIGFACE Coffee Affogato in partnership with NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler. Van Leeuwen offers quarterly seasonal specials, and its winter flavors - Peppermint Stick (available only in December) and Dulce de Leche Brownie and Vegan Banana Bread with Walnuts will be available until March 1, 2024.
About Van Leeuwen Ice Cream
Van Leeuwen began as a yellow scoop truck on the streets of NYC in 2008 by Ben Van Leeuwen, Pete Van Leeuwen and Laura O’Neill, who were on a mission to make good ice cream from good ingredients that makes you feel good. Their French-style ice cream (made with more than double the amount of egg yolks as standard ice cream) quickly gained a loyal following. Van Leeuwen has since expanded and has over 50 scoop shops in New York, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, DC, Colorado, Connecticut and Texas. Van Leeuwen also recently opened their first international scoop shop in Singapore. Pints, ice cream bars and ice cream sandwiches are available in grocery stores across the country and to order for nationwide shipping from their website. To keep up with everything Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, follow the brand on Instagram @vanleeuwenicecream or visit www.vanleeuwenicecream.com.