{"id":330613,"date":"2025-10-25T03:08:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T03:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/330613\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T03:08:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T03:08:14","slug":"iconic-valley-ice-cream-shop-scoops-up-tempe-location","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/330613\/","title":{"rendered":"Iconic Valley ice cream shop scoops up Tempe location"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1240\" height=\"949\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/img_3560.webp.jpeg\" class=\"article-thumbnail-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCookie Monster, a staple flavor, is electric blue-colored vanilla ice cream often requested topped with Cookie Crisp pieces and chocolate drizzle.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Mike Madriaga<\/p>\n<p>A popular Valley ice creamery is about to take over an iconic Tempe property. Next spring, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.novelicecream.com\/\">Novel Ice Cream<\/a> will open in the historic bungalow and adobe houses where the New American restaurant House of Tricks served diners for 34 years.<\/p>\n<p>Novel will open its window-service ice cream parlor on Seventh Street between Forest and Myrtle avenues. Taking over the storied location of House of Tricks, which <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/food-drink\/tempe-restaurant-house-of-tricks-to-close-in-2022-12639310\/\">shuttered in 2022<\/a>, was a \u201cno-brainer,\u201d says Shawn Allard, the owner of Novel Ice Cream. \u201cWe just found such a perfect space,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n<p>Since its 2017 debut Novel has become one of the most popular ice cream shops in the Valley. Today the ice creamery serves scoops from quirky, tiny shops on Grand Avenue near downtown Phoenix and in a hidden alley packed with small businesses in Mesa. Its ice cream truck, sporting a swirly wrap of bubble-gum pink and neon yellow, is unmissable when it pulls up around town.<\/p>\n<p>Customers line up to order at Novel\u2019s window bars for cones, scoops and a unique twist on an ice cream sandwich called the Doughnut Melt. Slices of glazed doughnut replace cookies in this treat. Assembled with an ice cream scoop of your choice, the sandwich is pressed so that the doughnut is warm and gooey on the outside.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" height=\"683\" width=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/newtimes-top10patio-55.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-40090329\"  \/>House of Tricks shuttered in Tempe in 2022 after 34 years in business.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What to expect in Tempe<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In Tempe, Novel will continue its walk-up window ordering format. The team will refresh the patio around the bungalow, adding more seating and lighting. The rest of the building will be used for office space.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Allard, an Arizona State University grad, reached out to the city of Tempe, sharing his interest in opening a location along Mill Avenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver the years, it felt like Mill Ave. or just Tempe in general was really under-served,\u201d he says. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t really anything from a dessert perspective that got me super excited to be down there. I felt like it was just ripe for us to go in there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The city pointed him to the House of Tricks property, Allard says. Though he never dined at the restaurant, Allard knows diners adored House of Tricks and the historic property.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sold me on saving that building and just finding a way to bring use to it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Novel joins a chorus of locals who are setting up cafes, restaurants and bars in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/food-drink\/tempes-mill-avenue-trades-dive-bars-for-high-end-restaurants-22707473\/\">Tempe\u2019s evolving downtown district<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about time that good concepts are coming out and getting a footprint down there,\u201d Allard says. \u201cIt\u2019s cool to be a part of that growth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" height=\"707\" width=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/img_3564.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-40025840\"  \/>Novel Ice Cream is known for its famous Dough Melt.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Novel grows across the Valley<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With this latest announcement, Novel has three new ice cream parlors in the works around the Valley.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In November, Novel will open a shop for students at Grand Canyon University\u2019s campus in the Joshua South building on Colter Street near 29th Avenue. The ice cream shop is also the first official tenant of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/food-drink\/developers-break-ground-on-peoria-restaurant-and-community-hub-22708265\/\">forthcoming downtown Peoria food and shopping hall, Jefferson House<\/a>, which is expected to open in June 2026.\u00a0The Novel Ice Cream truck is heading to bigger events in 2026, too, including the WM Phoenix Open.<\/p>\n<p>Local and national accolades have made this expansion possible, Allard says. Fun, kid-friendly flavors, like the Muppet-blue Cookie Monster, and the decadently adult Bourbon Toffee Caramel Crunch helped Novel earn a 2024 Phoenix New Times award for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/best-of-phoenix\/2024\/food-and-drink\/\">Best Ice Cream<\/a>. The creamery is also among our<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/food-drink\/best-ice-cream-in-phoenix-11394236\/\"> top 12 shops in the Valley<\/a>. In May, Yelp named Novel the country\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/food-drink\/popular-phoenix-spot-named-best-doughnut-shop-in-us-21784440\/\">top spot for doughnuts<\/a>. Novel then bagged the title of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/food-drink\/popular-phoenix-parlor-named-the-best-ice-cream-shop-in-us-22034825\/\">No. 1 ice cream shop in the U.S.<\/a> from Yelp in July.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all full speed ahead,\u201d Allard says.<\/p>\n<p>Novel Ice Cream<\/p>\n<p><strong>Now open:\u00a0<br \/><\/strong>1028 Grand Ave #6<br \/>40 N. Macdonald #2, Mesa<\/p>\n<p><strong>Coming Soon:<br \/><\/strong>3300 W. Camelback Road<br \/>113 E. Seventh St., Tempe<br \/>8308 W. Jefferson Street, Peoria<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cookie Monster, a staple flavor, is electric blue-colored vanilla ice cream often requested topped with Cookie Crisp pieces&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":330614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,23500,97044,1589,26228,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-330613","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-az","11":"tag-dessert","12":"tag-openings-closings","13":"tag-phoenix","14":"tag-tempe","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115432607347294021","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}