A big name in ice cream is coming to town: Cult-favorite artisan ice cream chain Salt & Straw will make its debut in Texas, opening its first locations in the state in Dallas and Fort Worth.

According to a release, the Oregon-based brand will open two shops in the DFW area this spring, both located in buzzy neighborhoods, as follows:

• Dallas: 2323 N. Henderson Ave. #107, in the same center as Gemma
• Fort Worth: 1305 W. Magnolia Ave., in the former Great Harvest Bread Co. space

Salt & Straw started out as a pushcart, founded by cousins Kim and Tyler Malek in 2011 in Portland. They've now grown to 57 locations with a huge presence in California and an expansion to the East Coast — from New England and New York to Florida to even Disneyland.

Wild flavors and collaborations
They're famous for their hyper-creative, often unexpected flavors including a never-ending rotation of monthly specials, overseen by head ice cream maker Tyler Malek. A recent Thanksgiving Series is typical: It included Parker House Rolls with Salted Buttercream; Turkey Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce, which featured a salt-and-pepper ice cream studded with bread pudding, turkey sausage, & cranberry jam; Pumpkin Pie Tiramisu; and Cranberry Orange Sorbet.

They also do partnerships such their 2024 collaboration with Taco Bell on a flavor called Tacolate, featuring a waffle-cone taco shell filled with cinnamon ancho chili ice cream, dipped in chocolate, and topped with toasted brown rice, served with two custom Taco Bell-inspired sauce packets: Mango Jalapeño Sauce and Wildberry Cinnamon Sauce.

Why DFW
In a statement, Kim says that DFW was a natural fit.

“We’ve spent meaningful time in Texas and have been inspired by the depth and momentum of its food and creative communities," Kim says. "Dallas and Fort Worth, in particular, stood out as places where craftsmanship, entrepreneurship, and hospitality intersect in a really genuine way, making them natural homes for Salt & Straw’s first shops in the state."

Dallas-Fort Worth has also in recent years embraced ice cream in a way it never did before, with incoming chains such as Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, and Handel's Ice Cream, as well as emerging local concepts such as Melt in Fort Worth.

Both Dallas and Fort Worth Salt & Straw locations will feature chef-driven classics such as Double Fold Vanilla and Salted Malted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, featuring a house-made cookie dough, made with the same malt you'd use to brew amber ale, and inorporating two types of salt, with thick malted fudge as a sweet counterpoint.

The shops will also serve as platforms for hyper-local collaborations that celebrate each neighborhood’s character, and gathering spaces for the community, where guests are encouraged to linger and try free samples of as many flavors they desire.