Ice cream shop moving into historic Tempe home after $500K city restoration

The preservation of a nearly 123-year-old historic Tempe home is on track to be completed this fall, just in time for a locally owned ice cream shop to open within the space.

Novel Ice Cream has plans to launch its third brick-and-mortar location at the 1903 Harry Walker House — now located on Fifth Street next to the Tempe City Hall — in mid-October or November, Novel Ice Cream owner Shawn Allard told the Business Journal. He acquired the business known for its small-batch, handcrafted ice cream in 2023.

Allard said the 1,200-square-foot historic home aligns with Novel’s brand of operating out of unique spaces, like its Grand Avenue location in Phoenix, housed in a 1900s-era cottage, or its downtown Mesa ice cream shop that’s tucked into a hidden alleyway with an outdoor ordering window.

The Harry Walker House was previously at the northwest corner of Seventh Street and Forest Avenue, but it was relocated in September to make way for a new 30-story apartment tower called the Hub on Campus Tempe.

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