‘Van Leeuwen Ice Cream’ Coming to Elm Street

A new ice cream shop is planned for downtown New Canaan.

‘Van Leeuwen Ice Cream’ is coming to 88 Elm St., formerly the Dunkin Donuts space. Credit: Michael Dinan

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream is “Coming Soon” to 88 Elm St., according to a sign on the vacant storefront, former longtime home of Dunkin Donuts. 

Interior work to prepare the new ice cream shop is expected to start in September, according to construction documents published online. 

According to the company’s website, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream launched in New York City in 2008 and now has locations in eight states plus Washington, D.C. In Connecticut there are already locations in Greenwich and Darien.

Van Leeuwen’s ice cream “is made from scratch at our factory in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY.,” the website says. The company’s mission is “to make good ice cream, from good ingredients, that makes you feel good.”

The business “was founded in NYC by brothers Ben and Pete Van Leeuwen (American with a Dutch Dad) and Laura O’Neill (an Australian living in America),” the website says.

Its products include ice cream in flavors such as Malted Cookie Dough Shake, Peanut Butter Brownie Honeycomb and Buttermilk Berry Cornbread, and vegan ice cream in Oat Milk Brown Sugar Chunk, Churros & Fudge and Strawberry Shortcake.

Once it launches, New Canaan will have three dedicated ice cream shops open simultaneously for the first time in decades, with Gelatissimo on Forest Street and Gofer Ice Cream on Main.

According to the construction documents, the estimated $85,000 worth of work will include “new interior partitions and doors, patch, repair, replace, clear, regrout existing floor, wall, and ceiling finishes as required, new lighting, new millwork, and installation of new equipment, including a 3 compartment sink, refrigerators and freezers.”