An ice cream chain known for its boozy dessert offerings is growing its brand at brick-and-mortar locations across the United States.
Tipsy Scoop, a company whose flagship bar-ice cream parlour, or barlour, is in New York City, is set to open a location next month at 119 S 18th St. in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square neighborhood and this summer at 506 N. Bishop Ave. in Dallas.
For its “City of Brotherly Love” location, Tipsy Scoop is taking about 300 square feet — the average size of the dessert bar’s shops — in a larger space it is sharing with Philly liquor retailer BOTLD.
“Philadelphia has been at the top of our expansion list since we opened our first ‘Barlour’ in 2017,” Tiny Scoop founder and owner Melissa Tavss said in a statement.
After opening in Baltimore near the Inner Harbor last month, the brand is eyeing foodie cities that possess the sweet spot of a drinking culture and largely warm weather as candidates for possible growth. The company is expected to have about a dozen locations operating across the country this year.
A spot in downtown Phoenix is on tap to open in the coming months and a storefront in Boston is likely to be added next spring, Tipsy Scoop spokesperson Rachel Chitwood told CoStar News in a phone interview. Down the line, additional storefronts could be on the way in the Northeast Corridor, as well as in Florida, like in Miami or Orlando, she said.
As for the upcoming Philly location, the chain’s arrival comes as the market's retail demand is projected to hold steady in the near term, with vacancy rates remaining largely unchanged and showing modest improvement by mid-year, according to CoStar’s latest report.
The Rittenhouse area serves as a retail corridor for the market and is home to several dessert shops. South Asian-inspired artisanal ice cream chain Malai opened a year ago near the park at 260 South 18th St.
While it might not make them too inebriated, guests to Tipsy Scoop can expect to enjoy the brand’s typical core assortment of cocktail-inspired ice creams and sorbets that are infused in the production process with real spirits up to 5% alcohol by volume. The menu also includes items such as a vodka-spiked cherry water ice known as "Philly Phreeze."
In addition to liquor-imbued sundaes and flights with a medley of miniature frozen treats, the chain offers mocktail flavors and traditional scoops for children and non-drinkers.
Tipsy Scoop also has locations in Brooklyn and Queens in New York, Portland, Oregon, Nashville, Tennessee, Pensacola, Florida, and one in The Bahamas.
For the record
BOTLD previously signed a lease for about 2,000 square feet at the Philly location and Jason Winig of Winig Properties served as the leasing representative, according to CoStar data.