Ice cream chain picks Phoenix area for expansion

Oh, cool! Arizona will soon be home for a popular regional ice cream chain.

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, based in Pennsylvania and a regional favorite, is making its way to Arizona.

Kevin and Trinette Markey plan to open the state’s first Bruster’s franchise in Chandler. They’re currently scouting for the perfect location for their shop, but they should open sometime this summer according to reports.

The Arizona franchise is the third of Bruster’s westward expansion, with two shops recently opened in Southern California.

Trinette Markey and the couple’s son Erik will be overseeing the store. Kevin Markey said the whole family has always had a love for ice cream.

“Ice cream is what we want to do with our lives,” Kevin Markey said to BusinessWire last week. “Our 401(k)s aren’t enough to live on at retirement. When we looked at the numbers with Bruster’s, the decision was easy.”

Kevin Markey’s United States Navy veteran status got the family a 50 percent discount on the start up costs of the shop due to the chain’s partnership with the International Franchise Association’s VetFran program.

Bruster’s has been a top-rated restaurant by Consumer Picks.

Although the Markeys are only under agreement to open one location right now, they hope to open more in the area in the future.