Hello Honey has been serving up homemade, small-batch ice cream in the heart of Downtown Cincinnati since it opened in 2012.
Now, almost nine years after opening its first location, Hello Honey will be expanding to East Walnut Hills this spring.
Brian Nicely and his wife Nitima Nicely began making ice cream in their home with a small, counter-top machine just for fun -- that is, until it turned into a full-scale plan to open up their own shop.
“We just jumped in. We wanted to do something that made people happy, allowed us to be creative and to make a product that we could be proud to serve,” co-owner Brian Nicely says.
Coming off their best year yet in 2019, the Nicelys knew that 2020 would be a perfect time to expand so that even more Cincinnatians could enjoy their unique, indulgent ice cream flavors. But as we all know, 2020 was a year full of unexpected twists and turns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had already begun working on the concept with the folks in East Walnut Hills, and we were optimistic that if we could ride out the storm of 2020, we could come out the other side stronger and ready for the growth we had set in motion,” Nicely says.
The duo says that they hope the new location will be open and running sometime this spring, but Nicely adds it is hard to pin down an exact time due to all the moving parts.
“We had been looking for a space to do a second location for some time, and we both knew we wanted to be ‘the’ neighborhood ice cream shop for whatever part of town we landed in,” Nicely says.
Nicely says he and Nitima were approached by people in East Walnut Hills who encouraged them to come and see all the development happening in the area. “We were really taken by the neighborhood,” he says.
The shop will be opening near Japanese-style eatery Mochiko's upcoming brick-and-mortar location.
Hello Honey offers decadent ice cream flavors like honey lavender, brownie and cream, and brown butter caramel. The business also is known for its homemade toasted marshmallows that you can top your treat with.
In the spring, they will bring in “fruity and bright creations,” Nicely says. He adds that the shop's Thai iced tea and honey pistachio flavors have become crowd favorites.
Once renovations are complete, the new location will be at 1530 Madison Road, right across the street from neighborhood restaurant Branch. The original location remains at 633 Vine Street.
For updates, follow Facebook.com/hellohoneyicecream.
