Salt & Straw opening 2nd Arizona ice cream shop in Tempe

PHOENIX — Portland-based ice cream chain Salt & Straw is expanding its metro Phoenix footprint with a new store opening this Friday.

“Opening our second shop in Arizona is a huge milestone for us,” Salt & Straw co-founder Kim Malek said in an announcement.

The new Tempe ice cream shop near Rural Road and University Drive sits within the Novus Innovation Corridor, which is on Arizona State University’s main campus.

It will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight, Mondays through Sundays.

Salt & Straw giving away free samples at grand opening of Tempe shop

The Tempe ice cream shop will give away free samples during its grand opening, which coincides with an event Novus Place is hosting called Moonlit Madness in the Park.

Moonlit Madness, which celebrates the start of men’s and women’s basketball seasons, runs from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. North Italia will give away mocktail samples, The Melt will offer samples of burgers and grilled cheese and other nearby retailers will offer other freebies.

“We’re thrilled to deepen our roots here with a new shop in Tempe, so we can continue to foster our Arizona community and bring them our most imaginative and delicious ice cream flavors,” Malek said.

What’s next for Salt & Straw after opening Tempe ice cream shop?

Salt & Straw opened its first Arizona shop in July 2024, located in Gilbert’s Agritopia neighborhood.

“From the moment we arrived in Gilbert, the community in this state has embraced us with so much warmth and enthusiasm,” Malek said.

The brand is known for its menu of 13 classic flavors, including honey lavender, sea salt caramel, olive oil and salted chocolate chip cookie dough. There are also a several festive flavors to celebrate Halloween:

• The Great Candycopia: chocolate candies inside salted butterscotch ice cream
• Essence of Ghost: a mixture of dark chocolate ice cream and scotch-infused sherbert
• Jack O’Lantern pumpkin bread hunks: pumpkin spiced ice cream with pumpkin bread chunks and cream cheese frosting
• Creepy Crawly critters: matcha green tea ice cream with chocolate crickets and toffee-brittle mealworms.

In addition to the new Tempe ice cream shop, the brand is also planning to open a third location at Uptown Plaza in Phoenix, but an official opening date has not yet been announced.

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