Founded | 2008New York City | in
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Founders | Pete Van Leeuwen, Ben Van Leeuwen, Laura O'Neill |
Website | vanleeuwenicecream |
Van Leeuwen Ice Cream is an American ice cream parlor chain.
Van Leeuwen began as a food truck in New York City in 2008 between Pete Van Leeuwen, his brother Ben, and their partner Laura O'Neill. Their yellow trucks sold flavors based on imported ingredients like Ceylon cinnamon, Sicilian pistachios, and vanilla from Papua New Guinea. [1] The American private equity firm Nextworld invested $18.7 million in the company in 2020. Van Leeuwen opened their 30th store in 2022 and has over 70 stores as of December 2024 [update] . [2] [3]
In November 2022, Van Leeuwen entered a settlement agreement with the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. The chain agreed to comply with a New York City law that banned retail stores from refusing to accept cash as payment and to pay $33,000 in outstanding civil penalties. Van Leeuwen had been violating the law since it went into effect in November 2020 and did not appear for any administrative hearings. [4]
7-Eleven, Inc. is an American convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as the Southland Ice Company, operating an ice house storefront in Dallas. Then-owned by Southland Corporation, the number of convenience stores expanded and were named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. Southland Corporation changed the stores' name to 7-Eleven in 1946, reflecting expanded hours of operation. Southland Corporation started franchising its stores in 1961; in 1973 Ito-Yokado, a Japanese supermarket chain, signed a franchisee agreement with Southland Corporation to develop 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan. Operating the Japanese stores under Seven-Eleven Japan, Ito-Yokado acquired a 70% stake in Southland Corporation in 1991; as majority owner, it changed Southland Corporation's name to 7-Eleven, Inc. that same year, then expanded to 100% ownership in November 2005, making 7-Eleven, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan. Ito-Yokado reorganized its collective businesses as a holding company in 2005, Seven & I Holdings, with 7-Eleven, Inc. wholly held by Seven-Eleven Japan.
Walgreen Company is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States, behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, and photo services. It was founded in Chicago in 1901, and is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Illinois. On December 31, 2014, Walgreens and Switzerland-based Alliance Boots merged to form a new holding company, Walgreens Boots Alliance. Walgreens became a subsidiary of the new company, which retained its Deerfield headquarters and trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol WBA.
An ice cream van (British) or ice cream truck (American) is a commercial vehicle that serves as a cold-food specialty food truck or a mobile retail outlet for pre-packaged ice cream, usually during the spring and summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or near parks, beaches, or other areas where people congregate. Ice cream vans often travel near where children play – outside schools, in residential areas, or in other locations. They usually stop briefly before moving on to the next street. Along the sides, a large sliding window acts as a serving hatch, and this often displays pictures of the available products and their prices. Most ice cream vans tend to sell both pre-manufactured ice pops in wrappers, and soft serve ice cream from a machine, served in a cone, and often with a chocolate flake, a sugary syrup, or toppings such as sprinkles. While franchises or chains are rare within the ice cream truck community, some do exist.
Planet Hollywood International Inc. is a themed restaurant chain inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood. The company is owned by Earl Enterprises corporation. Earl Enterprises was founded by Robert Earl.
Good Humor is a Good Humor-Breyers brand of ice cream started by Harry Burt in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, in the early 1920s with the Good Humor bar, a chocolate-coated ice cream bar on a stick sold from ice cream trucks and retail outlets. It was a fixture in American popular culture in the 1950s when the company operated up to 2,000 "sales cars".
Happy Joe's is an American pizza parlor chain based in Bettendorf, Iowa. The restaurant chain was founded in 1972 by Lawrence Joseph "Happy Joe" Whitty, a former Shakey's Pizza manager. Their United States locations are spread out across the Upper Midwest and Florida, with a location in Egypt, which opened in October 2022. In 2022, Happy Joe's has declared an intent over 10 years to open at least 25 locations across the Middle East and North Africa, including in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. The idea for Happy Joe's came from a combination of a pizza parlor and ice cream palace.
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Carvel is an American ice cream franchise owned by GoTo Foods. Carvel is best known for its soft-serve ice cream and ice cream cakes, which feature a layer of distinctive "crunchies". It also sells a variety of novelty ice cream bars and ice cream sandwiches. Its slogan is "America's Freshest Ice Cream".
Brigham's Ice Cream is a brand of ice cream and formerly a restaurant franchise. Brigham's is sold in quart containers throughout New England, and was served at franchised restaurants located in Massachusetts until 2013. It was founded in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts. Since the purchase by HP Hood, its offices are located at Kimball Lane, Lynnfield, Massachusetts. The company maintains a strong regional identity, using regional terms such as "wicked" (extremely) and "frappe", and makes reference to events with special significance to New Englanders, such as the Big Dig and the 2004 World Series. At one time, there were 100 Brigham's restaurant locations; the last was in Arlington, Massachusetts, and changed its name in August 2015. The ice cream is currently owned and manufactured by Hood.
Rosauers Supermarkets, Inc. is a regional chain of supermarkets in the Western United States, based in Spokane, Washington. Founded in 1934 by J. Merton Rosauer, Rosauers was sold in 1984 to Spokane-based URM Stores, and it eventually grew to 23 stores under the Huckleberry's Natural Market, Rosauers, and Super 1 Foods brands. Its stores are located in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon.
The Cold Stone Creamery, Inc. is an American international ice cream parlor chain. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company is owned and operated by Kahala Brands. The company's main product is premium ice cream made with approximately 12–14% butterfat, made on location and customized for patrons at time of order. Cold Stone has also expanded its menu with other ice cream-related products, including: ice cream cakes, pies, cookie sandwiches, smoothies, shakes, and iced or blended coffee drinks.
Skillet is a restaurant chain in the Seattle area. Originally launched as a gourmet burger van that was known for its bacon jam, it was described in 2011 as a restaurant on wheels. In 2011, it also opened a diner in Seattle.
The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is an ice cream shop in Brooklyn, New York City. Its original location was a converted 1922 fireboat house at 1 Water Street, on the Fulton Ferry Landing Pier, in the Dumbo neighborhood near the Brooklyn Bridge. It was replaced by an outpost of the Ample Hills ice cream stores in June 2019, which was subsequently replaced by an outpost of Van Leeuwen Ice Cream in May 2023. Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory remained in business at a new temporary location in the Greenpoint neighborhood until March 2021, when it reopened across the street from the original location at 14 Old Fulton Street.
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