CREAM, a San Francisco Bay Area–based dessert franchise that specializes in high-quality ice cream sandwiches and other confections, will celebrate its fifth year anniversary on December 14.
To commemorate, all 22 CREAM locations throughout California and Nevada will offer ice cream sandwiches for $1.50—the original price when the first CREAM opened in 2010.
The Shamiehs opened their first CREAM location in Berkeley, with the opening of their second location in the Bay Area months after. Since franchising the concept in 2012, the family business has grown to 22 locations throughout California and Nevada, with their 23rd location set to open by the end of the year. In 2015 alone, CREAM has opened 13 locations and currently has between 30–40 stores in development throughout California and Florida. Company plans call for as many as 50 in 2016 and CREAM plans to continue its growth with as many as 150 locations by 2020.
Also in 2015, CREAM has introduced a number of new products, including mini ice cream sandwiches, specialty coffee drinks, additional flavors to their premium pints, and a variety of seasonal favorites.
The idea for CREAM was born in the Shamieh household when Wafa Shamieh would bake homemade cookies for her children, Gus and Tag. As a part of the family tradition, Gus and Tag enjoyed customizing their mom’s cookies and her signature ice cream to create delicious ice cream sandwiches with every topping imaginable.
“My wife’s homemade ice cream sandwiches were always a neighborhood hit with the children. Inspired by the positive response, we opened our first CREAM location,” says Jimmy Shamieh, cofounder and CEO of CREAM. “Sharing the joy and nostalgia of our family recipes was one of the main reasons we started CREAM.”
CREAM, which is an acronym for “Cookies Rule Everything Around Me,” offers a menu of over 20 ice cream flavors and 16 cookie flavors and as many as 15 toppings that customers can mix and match, including vegan and gluten-free options. While the ice cream sandwiches are the main draw, CREAM also has milkshakes, floats, malts, scoops of ice cream, and other baked goods, such as “The Cream Taco,” a waffle cone shaped like a taco loaded with ice cream and toppings.
“There is a lot of excitement around the CREAM brand,” Shamieh says. “This year was huge for us growth wise, and we are looking forward to making 2016 even bigger with the opening of our first Florida location, as well as continuing expansion into other states throughout the nation.”