OddFellows Ice Cream Co.’s latest flavor is all about coffee.
The scoop shop opens a third location on Wednesday in NoLIta that offers customers a host of java options along with its signature ice cream creations.
From coffee and sweet cream soft serve and Stumptown cold brew milkshakes to lattes, cortados and flat whites, Coffee & Cream aims to offer the best of both worlds, OddFellows co-owner Mohan Kumar said.
“I think we have a great product when it comes to our signature stuff, but we get people who want more than to just have ice cream,” he said.
The team has mulled adding coffee to the menu ever since the first OddFellows opened in Williamsburg in 2013, Kumar said. A second location opened in the East Village on East Fourth Street in 2014 and revamped to focus on ice cream sandwiches the following year.
The new NoLIta location, located at 55 E. Houston St., worked well for the ice cream and coffee concept, with the corner of Houston and Mott streets lending itself to more of an on-the-go crowd, as opposed to just sweet tooth seekers, Kumar said.
“We did a location that was visible and had foot traffic,” Kumar said. “There aren’t many people walking on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, especially in the winter.”
In addition to a dozen rotating ice cream flavors from chef Sam Mason, the new store features a coffee menu from beverage director Andy Mullins, previously lead barista at Nobletree Coffee. The espresso bar options, which include lattes and cappuccinos, use beans from a rotation of local roasters, starting with Cafe Integral on Elizabeth Street.
A “Coffee & Cream” menu offers hybrid dishes, from an affogato (a shot of espresso poured over a scoop of your choice) to a sundae layered with a shot of espresso, coffee and vanilla ice cream, wafer cookie and whipped cream.
More growth is on the way for the brand this year. This summer, OddFellows plans to open another ice cream parlor on Water Street in DUMBO and its long-awaited factory on Suydam Street in Bushwick, which will have a restaurant, cafe and fully functional soda fountain.
“We will have unique takes on desserts and a lot of options,” Kumar said.
OddFellows isn’t the only Big Apple ice cream heavyweight with expansion plans of late.
Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream is opening five more NYC locations this year, starting with NoLIta on April 19, with others planned for the Upper West Side, SoHo, the Upper East Side and Prospect Heights.
Meanwhile Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream is taking over the former Silver Spurs space in Greenwich Village, according to GrubStreet.
