Each time the brand opens a new shop in a city, it creates an exclusive scoop, highlighting a local producer or flavor-an easy task for Houston’s locations. To better blend into Houston’s fabric, Van Leeuwen has brought some of the city’s most famous food personalities into the fold. When Ben first visited the city in May 2020, one thing became immediately clear: “People like food here, and they have very good taste.” The Van Leeuwen team learned more about one of the biggest and most diverse cities in the U.S., and was attracted to its booming, ever-evolving energy, particularly in the food scene.Ĭhef Christine Ha's collaboration with Van Leeuwen, a Bananas for Cheese ice cream, is inspired by a childhood snack of hers. Houston was an obvious choice for expansion. “We’re going into these new markets because we really, really like them.” “We want the new markets we go into to really understand that we’re not just throwing stores into a new market in an unthoughtful way,” Ben said. Houston was its first foray into Texas, starting with the Rice Village location that opened in May 2021.īut how does a New York-based brand integrate itself into a place that doesn’t really pay mind to the trends up north? It’s simple, Ben says: You spend a lot of time getting to know that place and its producers, chefs and people over weeks before opening. Now, 14 years later, the company has scoop shops in New York, New Jersey, California, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Connecticut and Texas.

Van leeuwen ice cream