Unique Ice Cream Shops Near Eastmark
The dog days of summer are fully upon us! With warm temperatures still on the horizon it is always nice to have somewhere to take the family near Eastmark or in the East Valley for a cool treat. This list of best ice cream shops in town features some family-run establishments and unique eats that are sure not to disappoint.
Closest to Eastmark are some unique ice cream offerings in East Mesa. One option, called Hive 48, uses only all-natural ingredients, and does not include any refined sugars, GMO, preservatives, or artificial flavors. Hive 48 also offers vegan, gluten free, and organic options. The menu has a wide variety of choices, like pastries, coffee, acai bowls and all-natural gelato and sorbet. They also have delivery and order-ahead options available on their website.
Also located in Mesa in the Downtown area is a popular ice cream shop called Novel Ice Cream. With one location in Phoenix, this Downtown Mesa location opened in Spring of 2021 in the East Valley. Novel Ice Cream is known for its doughnut ice cream sandwiches, small batch flavored ice creams, and quirky waffle cones. The ice cream comes in eight staple flavors, including bourbon caramel toffee crunch, chocolate, Madagascar vanilla, strawberry, butter pecan, honey lavender, cookie monster and specialties each new season, like oatmeal cream pie, carrot cake, and Cadbury Crème Egg. They also have cereal sprinkles you can add to your creation. Novel Ice Cream is located on Macdonald and Pepper Place and is open Tuesday through Sunday.
What would a list of cool treat offerings be without Gilbert’s newest hotspot? Eegee’s just opened their first Valley location in July 2021. Originally founded in 1971 in Tucson, Eegee’s is planning a return to the Phoenix area with 5 new locations. Expect another Gilbert location on Val Vista and Loop 202 as well as a Mesa location off US 60 and Crismon sometime soon. In the meantime, the Val Vista and Baseline location is now open and serving their signature fruit-flavored icy-drinks. Their everyday flavors include lemon, strawberry, and pina colada plus fun flavors of the month like watermelon. The menu also includes sandwiches, French fries, salads, and other snacks.
There are a few companies that have other locations nationwide in Gilbert. With locations from California to Pennsylvania, Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream is another great ice cream option that folks from all over the country might recognize. Located on Val Vista and Guadalupe, Handel’s has been around since 1945 in Youngstown, Ohio. The Gilbert location uses the same fresh ingredients and personal recipes for over 50 flavors of homemade ice cream and yogurt. One specialty that Handel’s has is the Handel Pop, a generous scoop of homemade vanilla, chocolate, or mint chocolate chip ice cream covered in gourmet dark chocolate shell and served on a stick. Or if you can’t decide, try a 4-scoop sampler for a variety of delicious ice cream. Rockwell Ice Cream Company is another Valley location that started first in Utah. All their ice cream is made fresh, in house every day. Rockwell is located at Santan Village Parkway and the 202 and they are open every day except Sunday.
There are also several cool family-owned ice cream options in Gilbert near the Eastmark community. 212 Ice Cream Studio has 2 Gilbert locations, closest to Eastmark on Higley and Williams Field Road. They like to create an experience at their ice cream shops. They pride themselves in using local, organic ingredients to create their premium dairy ice cream, vegan ice cream, and hand rolled premium ice cream. They also create specialty cones to include waffle cones, cookie cones, and pretzel cones.
Downtown Gilbert is home of 2 ice cream shops as well. Peterson’s Ice Cream & Café is a classic old-time ice cream shop that has timeless items like banana splits and specialty items like affogato or Mackinac Island Fudge. Creamistry is another Downtown Gilbert option, which uses liquid nitrogen to instantly freeze each ice cream order. Other unique local ice cream shops in Gilbert are Cream of the Crop in Barnone near Agritopia, Frozen Creamery on Cooper and Ray and Udder Delights on Val Vista and Warner.
The city of Chandler also has some unique offerings for tasty ice cream treats near Eastmark. The Screamery is located in Downtown Chandler and is Arizona’s first ice cream pasteurizer, which gives them complete control of their recipes to infuse flavors in the ice cream base. The Screamery has several other Valley locations in Tucson, Marana, and Phoenix and their menu has several homemade flavors as well as classics like a banana split, sundae, or funky options like ice cream nachos or a flight of ice cream with 6 scoops of your choosing. Also in Downtown Chandler is a fun frozen alternative called Paletas Betty. Paletas are a Mexican fresh fruit and cream popsicle and at Paletas Betty they make seasonal paletas from scratch. They also have other Mexican treats like raspados (Mexican shaved ice), agua vita (white team with fruit blends similar to an agua fresca), and frutas (a mixed fruit salad). Finally, just off the 101 and Ray in Chandler is Rewind – Ice Cream and Matcha. This recently opened shop houses two concepts; the first is ice cream meets cereal, where you can combine your favorite childhood cereals with their homemade ice cream or into a milkshake. They also serve layered drinks and Matcha and boba tea drinks. Drop in and check out their Instagram worthy neon sign while you’re there!
If Gelato is more of your cold treat preference, there are several special places near Eastmark as well! Heaven on a Spoon is a family owned and operated gelato spot on University and Gilbert in Mesa. They even use authentic ingredients from Italy and have dairy or gluten free, vegan, and egg free sorbets and unique selections like a gelato cannoli, frozen nachos, and frozen Italian tacos. Other nearby gelato shops include Gelato 64 on Higley and Queen Creek and Frost Gelato at the San Tan Village mall.
Whether it is a treat for a job well done as the school year starts, or a fun “end of summer” snack, visiting these “cool” establishments will definitely have your sprits lifted until cooler weather arrives.