Bruster’s is a chain of ice cream shops originally from and headquartered in Bridgewater, Pennsylvania serving up fresh made frozen desserts all over the eastern United States. They have a menu of crafted sweets and a wide range of customization options and toppings to make hundreds of possible unique combinations, and everything is made in-house.

With dozens and dozes of flavors that are rotated constantly, they have a winning recipe every day. While most of their stores are dedicated to just desserts, there are some of which have combined with other franchises to offer some food as well.  With a cherry logo and a promise of real ice cream, they have gained a lot of customers.

History

Bruce Reed, who grew up around the restaurant business due to his parents being restaurateurs, started selling frozen treats in the late 1980s under the name “Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream and Yogurt” which was a franchise. He started it right next door to his parents’ restaurant. But only a year later, he made it his own parlor and named it Bruster’s.

Not too long after, he began franchising and now has locations all over the eastern seaboard and the southern United States with shops from New Hampshire to Texas. With the singular goal of making their customers happy, it became one of the fastest growing ice cream chains in the country.

Bruster’s has over one hundred and seventy unique recipes and over one hundred and fifty flavors of ice cream, twenty-four of which are available every day in their stores. The flavors vary from store to store, though every store is guaranteed to have the three favorites: Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry.

They have even expanded their sweet-treat business to catering, cake delivery and a portable sundae bar as well. There are over two hundred locations over more than eighteen states and with new plans to make franchising easier, they expect growth in number of locations to skyrocket over the coming years.

Review

In Bruster’s everything from the ice cream to the waffle cones are made daily. They offer cakes, pies, shakes, sundaes, splits and classic cones. Their menu is full of quirky items like the “Dino Sundae” which has a cookie shaped like a dinosaur jutting out, or the “Dirt Sundae” which is vanilla with crumbled Oreos and a gummy worm.

It is items like that which make Bruster’s Ice Cream extremely family friendly. They even offer birthday cakes and cakes for special occasions. The menu also includes items for those with diet restrictions, such as “No Sugar Added,” “Fat-Free” and an assortment of non-dairy sorbets and ices. With seasonal items rotating through, there’s something for everyone at every age.

Bruster’s prides itself on cleanliness, hygiene, fresh ingredients and making ice cream with dedication and care for the best possible product.They make twent-four of their hundred and fifty flavors including such decadent ones as “Black Raspberry Cheesecake,” “Cherry Cordial,” “Cotton Candy Explosion,” and “Death by Chocolate” so something different is made every day in the store.

The wait is no more than you’d expect from any fast-casual place. Most treats are less than $5 but there are always coupons floating around that offer great deals. Nutrition information is easy to find for the health conscious, but taste of homemade ice cream is so good, it’s worth the indulgence.