A popular downtown scoops shop is adding a second location in Park Circle.
Off Track Ice Cream, whose 6 Beaufain St. location debuted in 2019, will soon serve traditional and vegan ice cream at 1054 E. Montague Ave., previously home to The Pink Crocodile gift shop.
Owners Marc and Alissa Zera are targeting a summer 2026 opening for Off Track Ice Cream 2.0, they announced on social media.
The Zeras arrived in Charleston by way of New York City, where Marc traded convertible bonds for a Japanese bank. After coming home from another day spent stuck in an Excel spreadsheet, Alissa suggested he try a new hobby.
Ice cream was a logical choice, given the couple’s frequent trips to Van Leeuwen Ice Cream. Before he knew it, Marc was at home mixing milk and cream with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and buttered popcorn in a Cuisinart ice cream machine.
A move to Charleston and plans to open an ice cream shop followed shortly thereafter, but the processed cereal and snacks he was using in his homemade creations stayed behind in New York.
The Zeras decided their ice cream shop would avoid using the stabilizers or additives that are in most pints people pick up at the grocery store. Instead, Off Track Ice Cream would partner with local producers and purveyors to bring all-natural ice creams — traditional and vegan — to downtown Charleston.
That philosophy endures today. And if the line that forms outside the door around 7 p.m. on most nights is any evidence, it’s been a winning formula for the Zeras since the shop opened in June 2019.
The owners hope to replicate that success in Park Circle, one of the Charleston area’s most rapidly developing dining destinations.
For updates on the new location, follow Off Track Ice Cream on Instagram @offtrackicecream.
Dining and Cooking