Fans of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams had been impatiently waiting for the scoop shop to open in Deep Ellum. And then, it did! Quietly. But then it snowed. Violently. And then Jeni’s temporarily closed. Rightfully.
After a freezing start in North Texas, Jeni’s has thawed out. The Deep Ellum shop is officially back open as of Monday, Feb. 22.
Those who want to take a stroll in sunny Deep Ellum will find the shop selling many of Jeni’s most popular flavors, like Brambleberry Crisp, Darkest Chocolate, Salted Peanut Butter with Chocolate Flecks, and Brown Butter Almond Brittle. Scoops start at $5.50. Seasonal spring flavors, available starting in April, will include Frosé sorbet, Lemon & Blueberries Parfait, and Sweet Cream Biscuits & Peach Jam.
In Deep Ellum, customers can buy pints of Jeni’s ice cream at the shop for $12. (If that sounds steep, it is: Pints are also available at Whole Foods, Central Market, and smaller shops like Foxtrot Market in the Dallas area — for at least a few bucks less.)
This Ohio ice cream shop’s Deep Ellum debut didn’t get the opening-day sparkle it deserves. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jeni’s founder Jeni Britton Bauer won’t immediately visit the shop in person and chat with fans, like she has done at dozens of other openings across the United States.
“We’re opening the shop with modified operations for the safety of the community and our team, and that includes not hosting big gatherings right now,” says a Jeni’s spokesperson. “But we hope to have a celebration later when it’s safe to do so.”
We called Jeni’s arrival in D-FW one of the most exciting foodie moments of 2021 in Dallas.
Britton Bauer and her team are obsessive about their ice cream, and they work closely with dairies in Ohio and Wisconsin, even monitoring what the dairy cows eat. “All those details really do make such a difference,” Britton Bauer said in a Dallas Morning News interview in late 2020.
The company doesn’t use emulsifiers or corn syrup in its ice cream. Staffers make waffle cones from scratch.
Britton Bauer, who lives in Ohio, says she feels connected to Texas and is excited for the new shop in Deep Ellum.
“In fifth grade, I chose Texas out of a hat in a yearlong study of a state. For an entire year, I wrote to the Chamber of Commerce or Convention and Visitors Bureau. ... I really felt like Texas was my place, my state, from that moment on,” she says. She wanted to visit Jeni’s in Dallas in early February, but the pandemic made it impossible.
“I’ve almost never missed a shop opening. I really don’t like to miss them,” she says.
Britton Bauer may be able to visit Dallas for a meet and greet at a later date, the spokesperson says.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is at 2649 Main St., Dallas.
