A revered ice cream chain from Ohio is coming to Burleson: Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream, known for its many flavors, is opening a location at 425 SW Wilshire Blvd. in Burleson on Thursday, September 4. According to a release, festivities will begin at 11 am.
Handel’s was founded in 1945 in Youngstown, Ohio by Alice Handel, who started by making ice cream with fruit from her backyard; the company is said to still use her recipes.
Ice cream in the Northeast is serious business, and Handel’s has a library of more than 100 flavors of ice creams, sorbets, and sherbets, with a minimum of 45 offered at each location. That includes your basic chocolate and vanilla but also unique options such as:
Graham Central Station: graham ice cream with graham cracker ripple and chocolate-covered crunchiesMonkey Business: banana cake batter ice cream with bananas, caramel ripple, and brownie piecesBlue Monster: blue vanilla ice cream with Oreo and Chips Ahoy! cookies
The new shop is going into a small center alongside Mo Bettah’s Hawaiian Style Food and Einstein Bros. Bagels. It’s from Deric and Vanessa Sheriff, who previously opened a Handel’s — their first — in Arlington in spring 2024. They also own a franchise location of the popular cake chain Nothing Bundt Cakes in Burleson.
“Vanessa likes baking, and I like ice cream, so once we saw that Handel’s was franchising this way, we got super excited,” Deric says. “We were like, ‘We need to do this.'”
Handel’s is known for its homemade-style ice cream, made fresh at each store. “It reminds us of homemade ice cream like Grandma would make,” Deric says.
The Burleson store is the 10th location in North Texas, in addition to locations in Flower Mound, Frisco, Highland Village, Little Elm, McKinney, Plano, Southlake, and Arlington.
The couple have a history of public service. Deric is an Arlington police officer of 22 years, and Vanessa is a retired nurse and paramedic.
“I guess you could say we enjoy serving the community — in more ways than one,” Deric says.
Dining and Cooking