A Brooklyn ice cream favorite has chosen The Woodlands for its first Texas location. The OddFellows is here.
OddFellows Ice Cream is an small-batch ice cream shop born of a pregnant New Yorker’s craving for savory ice cream. Franchise co-founder Mohan Kumar tried to appease his pregnant wife Holiday’s eclectic craving for the distinctive treat. When a homemade creation from Sam Mason, a James Beard nominee and former pastry chef at New York City’s Michelin-starred wd~50, did the trick, the trio quickly joined forces. Since opening the first shop in Brooklyn in 2013, Oddfellows have concocted more than 500 wacky and weird flavors alongside reimagined and improved classics.
There are plenty of traditional flavors that don’t change at Oddfellows. Vanilla Bean, Chocolate Chunk and Sprinkles, Cookies and Cream and Coffee Crunch are always available. But new flavors will appear regularly, Oddfellows The Woodlands owner Valerie Golson Gipson promises. Gipson and her husband Bryce saw an opportunity to bring a unique, whimsical take on ice cream to The Woodlands.
In addition to ice cream, OddFellows offers a selection of sorbet, vegan ice creams and soft serve, along with secret menu items like milkshakes and sundaes.
“I can’t tell you how many people have said, ‘Thank you for carrying good vegan ice cream,’ ” Valerie Gipson says. “We also don’t put artificial dyes in our ice creams. The five vegan ice creams are different as well. One is a sorbet, and then two are coconut based, and then two are cashew based.”
Oddfellows Makes Ice Cream Even More Fun
In addition to some non-traditional flavors, some non-traditional toppings and mix-ins are on the menu too. Including olive oil with sea salt.
“People are putting it on the honey and rosemary ice cream,” Bryce Gipson notes. “It really brings out the creaminess.”
Chili crisps have been popular with soft serve. But don’t worry if off-beat isn’t your thing, OddFellows has all the traditional sweet mix-ins too.
Hand-rolled waffle cones and bowls are made on site, with cups available too. Split scoops are another secret menu item. When you can’t decide on a flavor choose two and you can have them in the same cup, bowl or cone at Oddfellows.
Ice cream is delivered regularly from the New York production facility. Tubs hold between 60 to 70 scoops, and popular ones sell out, as OddFellows is truly a small-batch ice cream company.
OddFellows has been open just a few weeks in The Woodlands, but Valerie Gipson is already looking forward to hosting kid’s parties, and getting a mobile ice cream cart out in the community.
Want ice cream but don’t have time to eat a cone or cup? OddFellows will hand pack a to-go tub too.
OddFellows Ice Cream is located in the Lake Woodlands Crossing plaza at 1900 Lake Woodlands Drive. It is open 1 pm to 9 pm Sundays through Wednesdays, and 1 pm to 10 pm Thursdays through Saturdays. In the summer, those hours will be extended.