I Heart Ice Cream to open location in Dayton’s Wright-Dunbar district

Credit: Facebook Photo

Credit: Facebook Photo

I Heart Ice Cream, a Thai-inspired rolled ice cream business, is opening a brick-and-mortar location in Dayton’s Wright Dunbar District.

Dayton.com spoke with Danny Cortes, who owns the business with his wife, Liz, hours after they signed the lease for the new space. He said the news was still sinking in, but they are excited to open the doors at 9 N. Williams St.

The site was previously an office space. The owners have a little bit of work cut out for them, but said they are hoping to open by late June or early July.

The couple previously had plans to open inside Rabbit Hole Books at 29 W. First Street, but said the plans fell through. Within a few days of announcing they were no longer moving into the bookstore, Erica Hubler, director of real estate for Wright Dunbar, Inc., reached out to them about the new space, Cortes said.

“We had a pretty good feeling about it from the get go,” Cortes said. “It’s in an up and coming district. We’re really excited about it.”

I Heart Ice Cream will continue to serve rolled ice cream, milkshakes and bubble waffles. The owners have plans to host local artists, musicians or other types of events to support local, Cortes said.

“We’re looking forward to being able to share our passion of ice cream with people outside of the downtown Dayton area and we’re excited to grow as a family business and there’s no telling where we will go next because it’s happening so fast.”

I Heart Ice Cream launched in May 2021 via its mobile ice cream cart and expanded in Nov. 2021 to 2nd Street Market. In addition to operating its mobile cart for private and public events, the business will continue at 2nd Street Market Friday through Sunday.

For more information about I Heart Ice Cream, visit www.ihearticecream.org or the business’s Facebook or Instagram pages.

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