Sweet Things

New gelato and candy shops sweeten the lineup at Dallas' Victory Park

Sweet things are headed for Victory Park.

Photo courtesy of It'sugar

If you're a sweets fiend, Victory Park has two new concepts that'll be right up your alley. One does ice cream, the other does candy.

Popbar is known for gelato-on-a-stick and other frozen treats. It'sugar is a candy emporium specializing in sweets, novelty gifts, and giant candy.

Popbar will open a 690-square-foot location in June at 2420 Victory Park Ln. They serve gelato, sorbetto, and yogurt in a new way: on a stick. Because nobody has ever heard of this "stick" thing before. The menu includes 40+ rotating flavors, along with dippings and toppings, which allow for customizable flavor combinations.

The pops are made on-site daily in small batches of 26 popbars at a time. They also make unique treats such as frozen hot chocolate on a stick.

It'sugar will open a 2,644-square-foot location in late April at 2401 Victory Park Ln. It'sugar was founded by candy veteran Jeff Rubin in 2006, and claims to have become the largest specialty candy retailer in the world, with more than 100 locations in New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, and Chicago.

They're known for their absurd sugar innovations. They're also known for having what has to be the most punctuationally-challenged name in the world. That apostrophe masking as a space is an eyesore, nothing less. What is wrong with just calling yourself "It's Sugar"? Nope. Gotta have the special apostrophe.

Making matters worse, they also like to put their name in all caps, a la "IT'SUGAR". Sorry, we are not having that here on CultureMap, no all caps for you.

The two new sweets purveyors are part of a Victory Park redevelopment led by retail partner Trademark Property Co. and owner Estein USA.

Trademark CEO Terry Montesi says in a release that they're thrilled at the momentum.

"It's gratifying to see our intense redevelopment efforts continue to pay off with commitments from best-in-class local F&B and retail operators, which will help transform Victory into one of the most vibrant, walkable retail and entertainment districts in the city," he says.

The property will welcome 10 new concepts including a flagship Mesero; Imoto, an Asian kitchen and bar from Tracy Rathbun; wine bar Burgundy Swine; a restaurant by This & That (High Fives, The Standard Pour); and a bar by Brooke Humphries (Barcadia, Beauty Bar, Pints & Quarts).

There will also be a 24,000-square-foot restaurant and entertainment concept in Victory Plaza by Humphries and Elias Pope’s 8020 Hospitality (the team behind HG Sply Co.); and two unique concepts by Rebees, led by Dallas entrepreneur Tristan Simon that include a modern Texas saloon and a workspace with a café.

New retail tenants include Yoga Pod and Sweet Tooth Hotel, an experiential art and retail pop-up that will be open from May-June.

Other openings in the coming months include Luxe Dental, Orangetheory Fitness, Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas-Victory Park, and The 23, a new 285-unit mixed-use apartment community by LMC. Additional parking and a state-of-the-art valet program, as well as lighting and technology upgrades, will also roll out in early 2018.

A public art program that recently debuted includes a musically-inspired sculpture by Las Vegas-based artist Tim Bavington near the W Dallas – Victory Hotel, five vibrant garage murals by local artist Lesli Marshall, an eight-foot steel sculpture in the "Victory-sign" hand gesture by California-based artist Nathan Mabry, with additional pieces rolling out in the coming months.

desserts downtown

Ice Cream News

Global ice cream brand Kelvin Scale makes creamy U.S. debut in Frisco

Kelvin Scale

Ice cream cones by Kelvin Scale

A unique new ice cream shop has made its U.S. debut right here in the Dallas area: Called Kelvin Scale Ice Cream, it's a dessert shop featuring ice cream, waffles, shakes, brownies, and ice cream cakes and it's now open in Frisco at 2650 King Rd. #750, in a former spa business near the intersection of Main Street.

Kelvin Scale was originally founded in India, where it has approximately 40 locations. The name comes from a temperature scale used by scientists that starts at zero — which they wink at with a motto that says "the Absolute Zero of additives."

Bringing it to the U.S. is a team of entrepreneurs who were impressed with the premium quality of the ice cream and other menu items, says spokesman Ram Bonda.

"We make the ice cream from scratch, not from a mix, with none of the additives or stabilizers used by some ice cream brands," Bonda says.

They also tout their use of A2 milk, a whole milk that has become popular because is supposedly causes less gas or digestive discomfort than regular milk — a claim that has yet to be proven. Nonetheless, A2 milk is more expensive.

They also do not whip in much "overrun" — the industry term for infusing air to make ice cream lighter (and less costly to produce).

"The texture of our ice cream is very creamy and rich, and you definitely get more with each scoop," Bonda says.

They offer an unusual selection of flavors, with global influences such as Belgian chocolate, Biscoff cookie caramel, cotton candy, and blueberry cheesecake. More exotic offerings include chikku, made from the sapota fruit which has a distinctly caramel flavor; lychee, from the floral fruit that's popular in Asian cuisines; and Rajbhog, a flavor that pays homage to an Indian dessert featuring almonds, pistachios, and saffron.

"We'll feature 24 flavors in the store, pulled from a total bank of 70 to 80 flavors, with flavors rotating in and out according to what's in season and trending," Bonda says. The company enjoys keeping tabs on social media and weaving in flavors that turn viral.

One scoop is $4.50, but additional scoops are a dollar, making it irresistible to get two scoops instead of one.

There are sundaes of all kinds, brownies solo or with ice cream, and an entire menu of waffle treats: waffles with Nutella, waffles with fruit, a red velvet waffle, and a waffle sandwich with ice cream sandwiched between two waffles.

Frisco was a natural place to introduce the brand in the U.S., Bonda says.

"It's one of most rapidly growing cities in the U.S., and it seemed like the ideal place to launch our flagship location," he says. "The location has an open kitchen so you can see the ice cream being made."

ice cream openings