Handel’s Ice Cream to Open 100th Location

ROCKY RIVER, Ohio – Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream will mark a milestone next week when it opens its 100th store.

The chain, founded in Youngstown in 1945 and still headquartered in the Mahoning Valley, will achieve that feat April 20 when it opens a store in Rocky River, Ohio. A grand opening celebration will begin at 11 a.m. that day at the new store, located at 19935 Center Ridge Road. The first 100 guests will receive free ice cream for a year.

Handel’s is known for its wide range of flavors made fresh daily and its passionate fan base. It offers 48 flavors available daily and more than 140 flavors that rotate seasonally.

From its original store on Youngstown’s South Side, it now has locations coast to coast.

“Ohio is the home state for Handel’s, so we are incredibly proud to expand the sweet legacy here in Rocky River,” said Morgan Rubin, general manager of the Rocky River branch. “I live and breathe Handel’s, having grown up with the brand. My family opened the Niles Handel’s in 2000, and I worked there when I was younger. I love what I do and am thrilled to help grow the brand that started in my hometown.”

Handel’s is projected to open over 40 new locations in 2023, according to a news release.

“We could not be more excited to celebrate the opening of our 100th Handel’s location in Rocky River, just 82 miles from where Alice Handel opened her first ice cream shop in 1945,” said Rich Matherne, CEO at Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream. “We’re growing, introducing the best ice cream on the planet to new customers across the country. But Ohio will always be home.”

The 2,100-square-foot Rocky River store will offer dine-in, pickup, delivery and catering.

Handel’s corporate offices are in Canfield.

In 2023, Handel’s ranked on Franchise Time’s Fast & Serious, a list of the smartest-growing franchises for the year. Handel’s has also been named No. 1 Ice Cream on the Planet by National Geographic, one of the Top 10 Best Ice Cream Businesses by USA Today, one of the Top 500 Restaurants in America by Nation’s Restaurant News and Top 500 Franchises by Entrepreneur Magazine.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.