Sub Zero offers fresh, custom ice cream made to order per person using the science of cryogenics with liquid nitrogen.

Have you ever been to an Ice Cream Parlor and they didn’t carry your favorite flavors or only limited varieties? How about you or a family member who has dietary restrictions have no options, so they go without? Sub Zero offers the answer for everyone to have a custom made ice cream to order and it only takes a couple of minutes! Sub Zero solves these problems by offering custom, made to order ice cream per person using the science of cryogenics with liquid nitrogen. Because our ice cream is not frozen until it is ordered, we have the ability to offer dozens of options of cream bases that include vegan, sugar free, yogurt, reduced fat, and of course original ice cream, as well as hundreds of flavor and mix-in combinations. Not only is our product so customizable, it is also an entertaining, educational, and memorable experience!

How did you come up with the idea for your business?
The idea for Sub Zero Ice Cream really grew out of necessity. My husband and I had bought and opened a New York Burrito franchise. The space we leased was too large for what we needed for our shop, and it was in a poor location. We tried to sublease a portion of the shop, but we weren’t able to find anyone to sublet to, and with our rent going up within a year of the start of our lease, we knew we needed to do something. We started looking at what we could add to our space, and ice cream came to mind. Where New York Burrito was already a customizable, made to order process, we were drawn to the idea of “customizable food” and started looking for a way to apply this to desserts. With a degree in chemistry and an entrepreneurial mind that loves to figure out how to make things work, we started testing and developing a method to freeze ice cream in custom, individual portions using liquid nitrogen. Finding success, and a pretty cool way to make a customizable treat, we opened our first Sub Zero Ice Cream in 2005.

We applied for and were awarded a patent on our unique process of freezing ice cream. We started franchising and opened our first franchised locations in 2008. We’ve grown organically through the years, and had the great opportunity to present our business on NBC’s premier show “Shark Tank” in 2013. Though none of the Sharks offered a deal, with 16 franchised units at the time of airing, the promotion we received through the show airing helped us to grow over the years.