The holidays are a time to chill out. That makes them perfect for ice cream!
Unique and inventive ice cream flavors highlight the dynamic menu at neighborhood staple Ice Cream Jubilee (301 Water St. SE), including special holiday flavors available for a limited time now.
Those include Peppermint Patty, Mexican Hot Chocolate, Caramel Candy Pecan, Vanilla Peanut Butter Cup Chunk and Happy Birthday 2024! Don’t forget to pair ice cream with those holiday cookies.
Owner and founder Victoria Lai found herself creating ice cream flavors in her apartment kitchen while working as a corporate lawyer. She relocated to DC to accept her dream job as a Presidential appointee at the Department of Homeland Security, but found herself dedicating much of her spare time to her culinary ion.
In 2013, Lai took the unique flavors beyond her apartment walls and won the People’s Choice Award at the 2013 DC Scoop Competition at Union Market. She opened her first location in Yards Park soon after. The Ice Cream Jubilee team has since opened a second location in northern Virginia (4238 Wilson Boulevard) and has plans to open a third location in Reston Town Center next year.
Partner Laura O’Shaughnessy is a native Washingtonian with a background in marketing and digital media. The shop, she said, is unique in it’s ties to DC.
“She was ionate about flavors, and she started making ice cream,” O’Shaughnessy said of Lai’s creative process. “The different flavors are inspired by DC’s melting pot, childhood nostalgia and her favorite cocktails.”
The shop features a variety of unique flavors like banana bourbon caramel, ionfruit guava and marionberry with graham crackers in addition to more “traditional” flavors like cookies and cookie dough, cuppa joe (coffee) and chocolate chocolate. You can always find an assortment of seasonal flavors on the menu as well.
“Flash flavors” also highlight the menu sporadically and give customers the opportunity to try out some of the shops most unique and inventive flavors. “Sometimes it’s something that you wouldn’t expect to be delicious,” O’Shaughnessy said. Customer , she noted, is key to the flavor development process of “culinary innovation and experimentation.”
In addition to creating new and exciting frozen treats, the company is also keenly focused on sustainability. Local sourcing and composting are a top priority.
“Our heartbeat is really in the fabric of this DC area and the DMV, so we get our inspiration from here and source our flavors from around here,” O’Shaughnessy said.
In September, the shop’s T Street location closed its doors due to their landlord’s decision not to renew the lease. The shop received outpouring from neighbors with many eager suggestions for new locations. O’Shaughnessy said new and exciting developments and expansion are on the horizon.
“We’re ionate about being part of the community and we’re eager to expand and meet more [of our neighbors],” she said.
Ice Cream Jubilee at Yards Park (301 Water St. SE) is open from 3 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Monday. Visit icecreamjubilee.com to view the current flavor line up, place an order and learn more about the shop.
Sarah Payne is a reporter for Capital Community News. She can be reached at [email protected].
