In The News

The taste of Bruster’s chocolate raspberry truffle ice cream in a waffle cone was the crystallizing moment when Anna Wytiaz knew she was destined to open a Bruster’s  franchise location in her Florida community.

“My dad is from Pittsburgh so my siblings and I always looked forward to going to Bruster’s when visiting family,” recalls Wytiaz. “But when my mom took one bite out of the chocolate raspberry truffle she said, ‘We need to open a store’."

That’s just what happened.

Hendersonville’s Paul and Nicole Fedorchek had a dream to own and operate an ice cream franchise together.

They chose a brand that was central to their memories together, but not well-known in Middle Tennessee.

Shortly after the couple secured the financing in August 2021 that would allow them to move forward with opening a Bruster’s Real Ice Cream on Anderson Lane North, Paul Fedorchek died from an illness related to COVID-19.

Sara and Glenn Pilarski - Bruster's owners in Allison Park - join Rick to talk about what it's like owning and ice creams shop in Pittsburgh, which just got voted the #3 best ice cream city in the United States. 

 Sometimes a layoff is the path to achieving your dream.

Take Ben and Tiffany Schlueter for example. When Ben was laid off from his financial services job at the start of the pandemic, the couple found themselves with more time to research a long-held desire to own a local, family-friendly business.

Tiffany fell in love with Bruster’s Real Ice Cream growing up in Pittsburg, and when she found out they were franchising, the business was a go.

Bruster's Real Ice Cream brings a sundae bar to the PTL Kitchen, celebrating National Ice Cream Month with 9 of their over 150 flavors. With almost 200 locations nationwide, 11 of them - including the newest in Squirrel Hill - are in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Sweet Rewards Loyalty Members receive Double Points this weekend in recognition of National Ice Cream Day! Sign up now to get $3 in rewards instantly.

 In honor of National Ice Cream Month, Jessica and Bill took us to Brusters where they are celebrating Christmas in July! Try the delicious flavors at the Brusters on Robious Road in North Chesterfield.

The summer is the best time of the year at Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, and this July your local Bruster’s is preparing for a month full of scoops and celebrations, highlighted by National Ice Cream Day on July 17th.  To get you ready for the party, here are some ways that Bruster’s loves to celebrate!

In honor of this year’s National Ice Cream Month, Bruster’s is releasing a brand-new flavor. Ultimate Peanut Butter Oreo®, featuring homemade vanilla ice cream swirled with creamy peanut butter and chunks of Oreo® cookies, is the newest combination to come out of the Bruster’s kitchen. July also marks Bruster’s 33rd anniversary, and what is a birthday without cake?

The ice cream truck operated by Bruster’s Ice Cream in Hopewell Township has been visiting events such as graduation parties and sporting events, giving folks the chance to enjoy a cool summertime treat.

“Everybody is so happy all the time whenever an ice cream truck comes up,” said crew leader Meghan Parrish.

Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 was there in June when the truck arrived for an impromptu ice cream social in the township.

“It's just a wonderful way to get our neighborhood out and really make things a little special for the kids,” said neighbor Bethany Pistorius.

Being from Pennsylvania, Tiffany Schlueter was no stranger to the homemade ice cream Bruster’s sold. When the opportunity arose for her and her husband, Ben Schlueter, to open up a shop in Fishers, they jumped at the chance.

“I grew up in Pittsburgh and Bruster’s was the ice cream shop I went to, and I thought it was just a Pittsburg thing,” she says. The idea to open a store in Fishers started back in 2020 when the couple decided they wanted to give back to the community by opening a franchise. They did some research on top franchises to open and work for. That’s when they found Bruster’s.

Dr. Ramez Assad and Tiger Najjar were childhood friends who became business partners as adults. Most recently, the two have become successful franchisees with Bruster’s Real Ice Cream. They opened their first location in North Olmstead, Ohio (just west of Cleveland) last summer and have development rights to open five additional locations in the area.

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream is a Pittsburgh-based franchise brand that’s known as the home of 150 flavors of premium ice cream, yogurt, Italian ice, and sorbet that’s hand-crafted in each shop daily. Each of the brand’s more than 200 franchise locations offers at least two dozen fresh flavors available daily.

Those Watts are good people. As has apparently become tradition at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ facility, T.J. Watt handed out free ice cream courtesy of Bruster’s to members of the organization and media during the team’s final spring practice before breaking for the next seven weeks, not returning until the team reports for camp in late July.

Even though Anjelica Yee graduated from Humboldt State with a degree in Wildlife Conservation, she’s running an ice cream shop that her grandfather bought on a whim. Yee has worked in the restaurant industry since she was 16, so she makes an ideal GM for Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, which opened a couple months ago in Aptos.
The signature ice cream made on-site daily is known for its rich and creamy texture. Also, the ice cream served is no more than six days old to ensure freshness.

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, an American chain of ice cream parlors, announces the re-launch of its non-dairy frozen dessert line. Made with oat milk, the new line features 14 vegan flavors which will be rotated at each Bruster’s location. The re-launch marks one of the largest QSR rollouts of vegan ice cream to date. 

Bruster’s operates nearly 200 independently-owned locations in 22 states, as well as stores in Guyana and South Korea. The chain is known for serving old-fashioned, handcrafted ice cream scoops, cones and sundaes. For its dairy-free line, Bruster’s chose to work with oat milk, which it says “delivers a superior, creamier product, rivaling any other product.” 

Bridgewater, Beaver County-based Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, with independently owned locations in 22 states, Guyana and South Korea, announced that it is offering a new line of non-dairy, vegan flavors for the 2022 season.

The available flavors will rotate at each Bruster’s location.

Some of the non-dairy products flavors available will be: Banana, Chocolate, Chocolate chip, Chocolate raspberry truffle, Coffee chocolate chip, Cookies ‘n cream with Oreo, White raspberry truffle

New Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson wants to make one thing clear: He loves ice cream.

“I’ve always just been a go-to vanilla guy,” he said during a News4JAX interview the day he was introduced as coach in February. “I am not a flashy [with] all these different flavors and colors and everything. I just want plain vanilla.”

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence got the message before his new head coach was introduced. He tweeted a video on Feb. 4 showing Pederson’s sweet tooth for ice cream.

Lawrence had a surprise for his coach the next day. He delivered ice cream ahead of the introductory press conference.

Bridgewater, Beaver County-based Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, with independently owned locations in 22 states, Guyana and South Korea, announced that it is offering a new line of non-dairy, vegan flavors for the 2022 season.

The non-dairy products will be available in 14 new flavors including: Banana, Chocolate, Chocolate chip, Chocolate raspberry truffle, Coffee chocolate chip, Cookies ’n cream with Oreo, Mango, Mint chocolate chip, Peach Melba, Peanut butter made with Oreo, Strawberry banana, Strawberry, Vanilla, White raspberry truffle.

The available flavors will rotate at each Bruster’s location.

 At Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, the team is constantly looking for ways to improve their offerings to better serve their customers. Bruster’s is proud to re-launch their non-dairy vegan frozen dessert line, now made with oat milk. With 14 new frozen dessert flavor recipes including coffee chocolate chip, chocolate raspberry truffle, and mint chocolate chip, rotating at every Bruster’s Real Ice Cream location, visitors are bound to find a new favorite. These flavors will be offered in addition to their traditional hand-crafted ice cream flavors made with Bruster’s proprietary mix from its own dairy expanding the menu to provide more options.

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream re-launched their non-dairy vegan frozen dessert line, now made with oat milk. With 14 new frozen dessert flavor recipes including coffee chocolate chip, chocolate raspberry truffle, and mint chocolate chip, rotating at every Bruster’s Real Ice Cream location, visitors are bound to find a new favorite. These flavors will be offered in addition to their traditional hand-crafted ice cream flavors made with Bruster’s proprietary mix from its own dairy expanding the menu to provide more options.

Oat milk is a great dairy alternative for those who follow a vegan lifestyle as well as those with special dietary sensitivities or preferences. Bruster’s believes that using oat milk delivers a superior, creamier product, rivaling any other product. Bruster’s Real Ice Cream is known for its full-blown flavor and freshness, and the new oat milk offerings are no exception. To confirm the non-dairy flavors offered nearby, customers should check with their neighborhood Bruster’s location.

Chad McWreath said he looked at “many, many brands” when he was exploring franchise opportunities. “They were all wrong for me until I found Bruster’s Real Ice Cream,” said the 50-year-old Pittsburgh native. He’s had his first store, in the Squirrel Hill community of downtown Pittsburgh, open for about a year now and said his earnings in that first year were more than double what he expected. But he said there’s much more to the ROI with Bruster’s than just dollars.

“You have to invest in something that you are passionate about or it’s just not going to work,” he said of becoming a Bruster’s franchisee. “You have to be emotionally invested in it.” McWreath believes that a Bruster’s Real Ice Cream franchisee is in the business of making people happy. “Ice cream makes people happy!”

In this week’s Monday Motivator, we take a look behind-the-scenes at one of Bowling Green’s most popular spots for a delicious treat.

Bret Thorn Feb 05, 2020 Bruster’s Real Ice Cream – Chocolate Covered Cherry Ice Cream: Chocolate ice cream with maraschino cherries, chocolate fudge ribbons and cherry cordial swirl, $3.36-$7.81 depending on size and location

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream has crafted quite a reputation for itself. Known for its more than 150 flavors of premium, handcrafted ice cream, yogurt, Italian ice, and sorbet, the brand is experiencing a growing demand for its sweet treats all across the country. San Diego and Cleveland are two markets where the brand has recently signed new deals. All told for 2021, Bruster’s confirmed 29 new development agreements with 18 franchisees across 11 states.

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream—headquartered in Pennsylvania with 200 locations throughout the U.S. and in South Korea—features 24 flavors that are handmade on-site daily, says Jeffrey Yee, who co-owns the Aptos shop with his wife Brittney Dexel.

The business is known among other things for holding customer pajama day, bring-your-own-banana day (for $1 off a banana split) and offering doggie sundaes.

Is Bruster’s Real Ice Cream “pandemic-proof”? The phrase has mostly described concepts in the “essential” business categories such as repair, restoration and home services. But last year, 113 out of about 200 Bruster’s franchise stores set record all-time highs in revenue, up 17 percent in same-store sales.

Thank you to Bruster’s Ice Cream for helping us with some sweet treats for this round of The Great PTL Ice Cream Debate!

Caramel Coconut Cookie ice cream: Coconut ice cream with a caramel ribbon, vanilla wafer pieces, coconut flakes and chocolate flakes, $3.38-$7.87 depending on size and location.

It’s International Women’s Day — March 8 — and FastCasual is celebrating by bringing you the stories of 24 female executives leading the limited-service industry. Part 2, which publishes Tuesday, features 12 leaders, while Part 1 includes interviews with the following 12:

Restaurant chains are giving more stuff to their customers than ever before so they can get their data. Several different restaurant chains, including giants McDonald’s and Burger King, are currently testing loyalty programs in the U.S., and a number of others—including the aforementioned chains’ rival, Wendy’s—recently debuted their programs.

We shoppers all have our favorite stores or websites, and it’s satisfying when the places we’re loyal to, are loyal to us in return. A birthday present from Sephora? I’m not going to say no.

As Bruster’s Real Ice Cream’s CEO Jim Sahene always says, the business is about opening one great store at a time. That vision, which guides the system of nearly 200  locations, has paid off. Capitalizing on customer engagement via technology, steadily increasing its national presence and evolving as the ice cream category largely remains the same, Bruster’s has proved to be pandemic-proof.

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and some chains, such as Baskin-Robbins and Krispy Kreme, are betting that, 10 months into the pandemic, some heart-shaped treats are in order. Bruster’s Real Ice Cream is being more subtle — its seasonal treats both have a splash of red — while Voodoo Doughnut’s monthly special is blue for […]

As Bruster’s Real Ice Cream’s CEO Jim Sahene always says, the business is about opening one great store at a time. That vision, which guides the system of nearly 200 locations, has paid off. 

The holiday season has arrived and Bruster’s is ready with its festive December limited time offers:  

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream

The Great Recession and its aftermath weren’t kind to Bruster’s Real Ice Cream as sales declines and stores closures hit the franchise. Adjustments the company made in subsequent years, however, began yielding sales and unit growth, and in 2019 Bruster’s hit nearly $80 million in systemwide sales, surpassing its pre-recession performance.

After learning the news that swimsuit season was going to be postponed (or canceled) for many this year, people decided to drop the salads and make cookie dough, according to a year-over-year comparison of key food search terms through Google Trends.

High unemployment, low rent and cheap financing could make it a big year for franchise sales. But there are risks for both the franchisor and the operators.

The chain has seen record same-store sales and unit volumes coming out of quarantine, as demand for treats soars. Jim Sahene didn’t know what to expect when dining rooms were closed across the country back in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, but it certainly wasn’t record unit volumes at Bruster’s Real Ice Cream.

Flavors of fall are appearing on menus as thoughts turn to apples, pumpkins, pears, squashes and comfort foods. Here’s a sampling of places where you can find your fall favorites at any time of the day.

A big bucket of cold water has been thrown over the start of ice cream season. While many national ice cream chains, which are usually open year-round, have remained open, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted locally owned shops. The mom-and-pop ones have either been forced to change their business model or have not been able […]

Birthday parties, Easter egg hunts and fun activities are still able to happen, even in the midst of a pandemic, with a little creativity.

INDUSTRY NEWS – FEBRUARY 13, 2020 – After reveling in 30 years of business in 2019, Bruster’s Real Ice Cream is still celebrating as the company announced the completion of 10 new store agreements. With six stores expected to open in California, and four in Florida, Bruster’s is well on its way to expanding its […]

Bruster’s Real Ice Cream opened its fifth Texas location Jan. 8 at 3303 N. RM 620, Austin. The ice cream shop serves sundaes, cakes, shakes and more and will feature a deck and an outdoor seating area.