Here’s The Scoop: Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Is Coming to Westport

above left to right: Despite being called honeycomb, this flavor is made with caramel candy; Whether your a cup or cone enthusiast, the brothers have got you covered; Van Leeuwen ice cream sandwiches

Some Sweet news for Westport! Van Leeuwen opens its fourth Connecticut shop in the heart of downtown February 6th.

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, the beloved national brand known for its made-from-scratch dairy and vegan ice creams, opens it’s scoop shop early this year in Westport. The Westport store is the brand’s fourth location in Connecticut, following New Canaan (December 2023), Darien (April 2023) and Greenwich (October 2022), 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.

Housemade waffle cones.

Ben and Pete became ice cream entrepreneurs back in 2002. The brothers rented a Good Humor truck and drove it 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.

The sweet smell of delicious flavors and homemade cones cooking will let you know you’re in the right spot.

Its French-style ice cream (made with more than double the amount of egg yolks as standard ice cream) quickly gained a loyal following. They are known nationally for creative seasonal flavors with a genuine focus on good ingredients and no unnecessary stuff, as well as for out-of-the-box limited-edition collaboration flavors such as Hidden Valley Ranch, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, BIGFACE Coffee Affogato in partnership with NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler and Espresso ice cream in partnership with singer/songwriter Sabrina Carpenter. Its extensive menu features more than 30 signature flavors including its award-winning Vanilla Bean (named best vanilla ice cream by The New York Times/Wirecutter), 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, in addition to sundaes, housemade waffle cones, ice cream sandwiches, root beer floats, milkshakes and pints. Popular vegan flavors include Banana Bread Pudding, Peanut Butter Brownie Honeycomb, Strawberry Shortcake and more.

Co-founders Pete Van Leeuwen, Laura O’Neill and Ben Van Leeuwen.

“We are so excited to bring Van Leeuwen to Westport and open our fourth location in our home state,” said Ben Van Leeuwen, co-founder and CEO. “It’s been amazing to see how warm the reception has been in Greenwich, Darien and New Canaan and we’re thrilled to grow our footprint in Connecticut. We look forward to sharing good ice cream, made with good ingredients, with the Westport community.”

In-store appetizing poster

Van Leeuwen’s Westport scoop shop is at 31 Church Lane and will be open daily starting February 6th. Guests can enjoy their treats at the scoop shop or order pints for takeout or delivery.

Co-founders Pete Van Leeuwen, Laura O’Neill and Ben Van Leeuwen during the early stages of their business adventure.

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