NEW CANAAN, CT — Van Leeuwen Ice Cream officially opened its newest scoop shop Thursday at 88 Elm Street in New Canaan.
During a media preview held Tuesday evening, the store showcased some of the exciting and unique flavor combinations guests in New Canaan can now enjoy, including honeycomb, vanilla bean, marionberry cheesecake, malted cookie dough shake and even Earl Grey tea.
Ben Van Leeuwen, who co-founded the nationally popular brand with Pete Van Leeuwen, said the company’s approach to ice cream mainly aims to create a new, decadent spin on classic flavors.
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“So vanilla made with a lot of cream,” Van Leeuwen said to Patch, “a lot of eggs, and whole bourbon and Tahitian vanilla beans ground up and blended into that.”
Flavor ideas mainly come from Van Leeuwen and his team trying to come up with tastes and combinations they think guests will respond to.
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“The ice cream experience is often driven by wanting to sate this nostalgic desire,” Van Leeuwen said, “so you kind of have to keep it classic a lot of times, because people want to be sure that it’s going to give them what they were looking for.”
See also: Van Leeuwen Ice Cream To Open Scoop Shop In New Canaan
Luke Venner, head chef of the popular downtown restaurant Elm, said he was excited when he heard his favorite ice cream was coming to New Canaan, let alone right across the street from his restaurant.
“I’ve been a fan of their ice cream for quite a while,” Venner said to Patch, “and [I’m] really excited to have them here.”
According to Van Leeuwen, the walkability of the downtown area was one of the biggest appeals of bringing a scoop shop to town.
“It’s a great place to walk around,” Van Leeuwen said. “For our business, we do really well when people are walking by, because ice cream, a lot of time, you’re not planning on getting it. It’s an impulse purchase.”
The launch also marks a homecoming of sorts for the co-founders, Fairfield County natives whose ice cream journey started in the area 20 years ago.
“I grew up in Greenwich,” Van Leeuwen said, “a lot of my family lives around here, friends, so we’re extra excited. It kind of feels like our hometown.”
In addition to a wide variety of flavors, guests who walk into the New Canaan store can also enjoy inventive sundaes, housemade waffle cones, large ice cream cookie sandwiches and various vegan flavors.
Venner even developed a signature Cognac & Black Truffle Dulce de Leche sauce topping for the shop to celebrate their grand opening, which Van Leeuwen said would only be available “until it runs out.”
Venner said he knew Van Leeuwen had collaborated with other local chefs in the past and was eager to develop something fun and unique for them.
“It’s the holidays, so we went with a Cognac and black truffle sauce,” Venner said. “It’s kind of adventurous, but a lot of people don’t know that truffles actually go well with a lot of desserts actually, so it was really fun. It was fun to get creative with it and do something cool and a little bit different.”
Though he enjoys a number of Van Leeuwen’s fun flavors, Venner was quick to single one out as his favorite.
“The honeycomb is hands down my favorite,” Venner said. “It’s very simple, and I think it’s genius.”
Van Leeuwen’s New Canaan scoop shop will be open daily. Guests can enjoy their treats at the shop or order pints for takeout and delivery.
The New Canaan store is only the brand’s third in Connecticut, following locations in Darien and Greenwich.
“We’re happy to have them here,” Venner said. “Elm Street has so many new openings this year, and it’s awesome to see brands, retailers and stuff that we like, so we’re really happy to have them here. It’s a great company.”
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