The Heights’ Coolest New Ice Cream Shop Is a Drive-Thru — Handel’s Keeps It Modern and Old Fashioned

If there is a perfect season to open a new ice cream shop in hot, humid Houston, this is it. The Ohio-born Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream has been scooping up homemade flavors such as raspberry dream cream, caramel latte and chocolate almond since 1945 and it’s now finally opened a shop in Houston. Fittingly, in The Heights, one of the city’s hottest neighborhoods.

Heights residents and devoted Handel’s fans Tim and Kesha Chatman have opened a red, white and blue 2,300-square-foot Handel’s ice cream shop at 3425 Ella Boulevard, offering 48 rotating monthly flavors churned in-house daily. You can walk up and even drive-thru for ice cream.

Also on the icy menu? Sweet chilly treats such as sorbets (vegan approved) in flavors that include vanilla pineapple, pomegranate and mango, old fashioned sherbet in flavors ranging from lime to champagne and chilly ices such as pucker up sour apple and cool watermelon.

Besides cones and dishes, one can indulge in decadent sundaes, shakes, malts, ice cream sandwiches, chocolate-dipped pops and hurricanes (essentially vanilla ice cream blended with mix-ins like OREO cookie pieces, Butterfingers, chocolate chip cookie dough and Heath bars).

I dug into a couple of hand-packed pints and found the ice cream base rich and creamy. Since I’m a fan of mix-ins, two of this new ice cream shop’s best-selling flavors won me over. That’d be Handel’s Graham Central Station made with a graham cracker flavored ice cream base with a ripple of both baked graham crackers and chocolate covered crunchies woven through it, along with their version of cookie packed ice cream dubbed “Oooh…Dough!” that pairs chocolate chip cookie dough with Oreo cookie pieces in a vanilla base.

The Chatmans, residents of the Oak Forest area, left their former careers (Tim in IT and Kesha in fashion) after tasting their first Handel’s cone in 2018.

“We loved the concept, the quality, certainly the taste, and began considering opening a Handel’s franchise of our own,” Kesha Chatman says. “Tim absolutely loves the flavors Mud Pie and Mocha Almond Fudge Ripple. While I can’t get enough Salty Caramel Truffle or the Caramel Cone Crunch Hurricane.”

Founded by Miss Alice Handel in Youngstown, Handel ran her single scoop shop for 40 years before it was sold to Lenny Fisher, who has expanded the vintage ice cream parlor to more than 150 ice cream shops in 15 states. Including this first one in Houston.

Handel’s in The Heights is open Mondays through Saturdays from 11 am to 10 pm, and Sundays from 11 am to 9 pm. It is also available to order through DoorDash, Uber Eats and Postmates. Catering services are in the works.