Rolled Ice Cream
Trendy Deep Ellum ice cream joint rolls out a spinoff in Fort Worth
If you've strolled through Deep Ellum lately, you know that the longest line these days is not for barbecue or rock 'n' roll but instead for Chills 360, pioneering purveyor in Dallas of the hot dessert trend called rolled ice cream.
Now Fort Worth will get its chance to line up, too, as Chills 360 is opening a branch in the Warehouses at Foch, at 1005 Foch St., in the space previously occupied by the dog boutique Wag, which has moved to 4737 Camp Bowie Blvd.
Co-owner Mohammad Babar says that they'd always had Fort Worth in their sights.
"We were receiving a lot of requests from customers, and when the location on Foch Street opened, we were happy to get it," he says. "That neighborhood is perfect for us. We're next to the Reservoir Bar, and there's plenty of parking in the area."
Rolled ice cream, aka "Thai-style ice cream," is like the modern-day version of Coldstone Creamery, where an ice cream mix is poured over an icy cold disc until it freezes, then gets rolled into eye-catching pinwheels and doused with toppings.
The concept is said to have started in Thailand, but it premiered in New York at a place called 10 Below. Mohammad and Javeria Babar opened their first branch in Deep Ellum in 2016.
What seemed like it might be a fad has blossomed into an enduring business, as visitors in Deep Ellum are more than happy to wait for their rolled treat. It's not just dessert, it's like watching a performance, with lots of interactivity from the staff, who often drizzle customers' names on top of the ice cream.
Chills has stayed abreast of trends such as the black ash ice cream craze that seized Dallas in summer '17. They regularly rotate in special flavors. They recently did a peanut-butter flavor that came with pretzels and a Nutter Butter cookie. The latest special flavor is the hugely popular red velvet, into which they incorporate real chunks of red velvet cake.
The Fort Worth location will do the same. Babar anticipates a "late October" opening, and says the expansion won't stop there. A Chills opened in Rockwall in mid-summer, and he has more locations in the wings.
