Steve's Ice Cream facts for kids
Steve's Ice Cream was a famous ice cream brand that started as a special ice cream shop. Steve Herrell opened his first shop in Somerville, Massachusetts, in 1973. This shop was known as the Original Steve's Ice Cream. It became famous for its super-rich ice cream and for letting customers create their own unique ice cream treats using "mix-ins."
How Steve's Ice Cream Started
Steve Herrell finished college in 1967. In 1973, he changed a special freezer to make very creamy ice cream with less air in it. He then opened Steve's Ice Cream to sell this new kind of ice cream.
A friend showed Steve the Heath bar candy bar in the late 1960s. Steve thought it would be perfect to add to his ice cream. Instead of having flavors like chocolate chip already mixed in, his staff would blend fresh ice cream with candies or other treats. Customers could choose what they wanted. These candy additions were called "smoosh-ins." People loved these custom-made flavors, and they became very popular.
In 1975, a cone at Steve's cost 35 or 55 cents. Adding a "smoosh-in" like M&M's or Heath bars cost an extra 10 cents. Fruit smoosh-ins also cost 10 cents more. While waiting, customers could pay a dime to play a song on the store's player piano, which Steve had fixed up.
The "Smoosh-In" Idea
Steve's Ice Cream made the word "smoosh-in" their own special term. This meant other ice cream shops had to call them "mix-ins." A smoosh-in was when candies or other ingredients were mixed into the ice cream right when you ordered it.
The Heath bar smoosh-in became very popular. Other ice cream places started using this idea too. This success even made the Heath company create a special part of their business just for selling to other food companies. Many ice cream chains later used the "smoosh-in" idea, which helped create a whole new way of making ice cream.
Steve's business idea inspired many other popular ice cream shops. These include Cold Stone Creamery and Amy's Ice Creams. It also led to products like the Dairy Queen Blizzard and Wendy's Twisted Frosty. A journalist named Tom Austin said that Steve Herrell was a pioneer in the ice cream world. He said, "Modern gourmet ice cream is widely considered to have been born at the original Steve's in Boston."
Steve Herrell is also known for inspiring the people who started Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. Their first store, which opened in 1978, also had a freezer to make ice cream and a player piano, just like Steve's. There's even a picture of Steve, Ben, and Jerry hanging in Steve Herrell's current ice cream shop in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Changes and Return of Steve's Ice Cream
In 1977, Steve Herrell sold his company for $80,000 to Joe Crugnale. Joe later started the Bertucci's restaurant chain. The company was sold again in 1983. For some years, Steve's shops were often found next to D'Angelo sandwich shops. But when D'Angelo was bought by Yum! Brands in 1993, Steve's shops were replaced by Pizza Hut.
Steve’s also started selling pre-packaged ice cream in grocery stores. This caused problems with the people who owned Steve's franchise shops in the late 1980s. The franchise owners felt that selling ice cream in grocery stores hurt their business. They also argued that pre-packaged ice cream wasn't the same as the special, handmade ice cream Steve's was known for. Some franchise owners stopped paying their fees. Many of these shops had to close, which likely led to the company closing down in the late 1990s.
In 1980, Steve Herrell started a new ice cream business called Herrell's Ice Cream. This business is still open today! He stopped working there every day in 2014.
The Steve's Ice Cream brand was bought by David Stein in 2009. He used to work for Steve's in the 1980s. The new Steve's Ice Cream started in Brooklyn in 2011. They sold packaged ice cream and opened stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn. However, David Stein's company, which ran Steve's Ice Cream, went out of business in 2017. It was then bought by Dean Foods Company of Dallas, Texas. As of July 2021, Dean Foods no longer lists Steve's Ice Cream on its website.
