Ice Cream News

Here's one more trendy ice cream shop rolling into Dallas' Deep Ellum

The only verb you can use for this ice cream is rolls.

Photo courtesy of Let's Roll

It's more rolled ice cream for everyone — or at least for the people of Dallas' Deep Ellum, where a growing new concept called Let's Roll Ice Cream will open a new shop this fall.

Let's Roll will open at 3101 Commerce St., at the corner of Hall Street, in the location previously occupied by WhichWich Sandwiches.

According to a spokesperson, the Deep Ellum location is slated to open in late September.

There's also a second location coming to Frisco, with location and opening date still TBD.

Let’s Roll Ice Cream serves ice cream rolls, mixed to order on an iced grill with fruits and other toppings.

Ice cream rolls are like a futuristic version of Coldstone Creamery, where an ice cream mix is poured over an icy cold disc until it freezes, then rolled into eye-catching pinwheels and doused with toppings.

Also known as Thai-style rolled ice cream, it's the same treat that was pioneered in Dallas by Chills360, which made its debut in Deep Ellum at 2622 Elm St. in 2016. Chills360 has enjoyed a wide expansion with locations opening in all your hot towns: Fort Worth, Grapevine, Prosper, Rockwall, Waco, even Houston.

Let's Roll opened its first location on MacArthur Boulevard in Irving in late 2017, then followed that with a second location in Carrollton in spring 2018.

Its menu includes a make-your-own option in which you choose your ice cream "base" from vanilla, chocolate, coffee, mango, birthday cake, or matcha green tea.

You pick a mix-in ingredient such as Oreos, graham crackers, blueberries, brownies, pound cake, banana, or peanut-butter. They smash that together on the ice disc and roll it up.

You get your choice of three toppings such as sprinkles, coconut, almonds, gummy bears, and so on, plus a sauce such as chocolate or caramel.

You can also choose one of their pre-set specials, or else get your ice cream as part an ice cream sandwich, made on a plain or glazed doughnut.

Is it an odd decision for a landlord to go with a second rolled ice cream shop in a neighborhood as small as Deep Ellum? Possibly, but Deep Ellum does have multiples of concepts such as pizza, ramen, and even other ice cream shops such as Twisted Treats.

And let's not forget that Let's Roll will open directly across the street from Wild About Harry's, the custard shop that just closed mere days ago. Ice cream rolls out, ice cream rolls in.

desserts ice-cream deep-ellum

RIP Al

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat dies at 69 after ALS battle

Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, RIP

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, founder of the acclaimed local steakhouse Al Biernat's, passed away on November 13, following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease; he was 69.

Biernat was one of Dallas' all-time great hospitality figures, dating back to his days at The Palm steakhouse, for whom he worked in Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas.

Biernat founded his namesake restaurant in 1998 on Oak Lawn Avenue, where his standard of excellence and doting charm made it a destination for special occasions, Park Cities swells, and celebrities in town.

His sense of hospitality had little competition in Dallas. He was a charming and personable host who genuinely liked people, and it didn't matter whether you were Conan O'Brien, David Crosby, or one of the other high-profile diners that visited his restaurants — or else just a regular schlub: He had a knack for making everyone feel special and remembered.

Biernat was born on August 20, 1955 and grew up in Michigan, then lived in Colorado, New York, Los Angeles, and Houston, before moving to Dallas to work at The Palm in the West End, where his dynamic presence gave the restaurant an incomparable vitality; it closed in 2017.

He opened Al Biernat's at 4217 Oak Lawn Ave. in 1998, followed by a second location in North Dallas at 5251 Spring Valley Rd. in 2017.

He began to experience ALS symptoms in May 2023, was diagnosed in December, and revealed his condition in February 2024. The revelation was met with an outpouring of sympathy and well wishes from the hospitality industry — a sign of the high regard in which he was held.

The average life expectancy for people with ALS is two to five years after diagnosis. Symptoms can begin in the muscles that control speech and swallowing, or in the hands, arms, legs, or feet. He began to have difficulty communicating in September, and spent his last days in a hospice.

On September 18, he broached the topic of dying, before ending on a note of gratitude to friends and family.

"Having Bulbar ALS I am realistic about my future," he said. "Friends and family have asked me if I’m afraid of dying, and this is what I say to them. Because of the salvation of Jesus, I will be rejoicing in my spirit to see him in all of his glory. Since we are all flesh, soul, and spirit, only my flesh is being left behind. But don’t get me wrong, I have a blessed life in this world, with a loving wife, and a beautiful family and many wonderful and caring friends. I am grateful!"

Both Al Biernat's locations will continue to remain open under the management of Biernat's nephew Brad Fuller, as they have for nearly the past two years.

Biernat is survived by Fuller, as well as his wife Jeannie and three daughters: Angelica Saylor, Kaitlin Biernat Connell, and Jess Biernat, plus five grandsons and two granddaughters. . According to family members, details regarding a celebration of his life will be announced soon.

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