HUB Ice Cream Factory has teamed up with the creator of Isabella’s Ice Cream, Kristel Johnson, and is reopening its doors on Friday, November 6.
With the addition of Johnson, who has taken the role of HUB Ice Cream’s general manager, she brings at least a decade of experience in making handcrafted ice cream.
Sweet additions to the shop
The ice cream parlor, which is located across the street from the recently reopened HUB Restaurant & Creamery on Congress, has expanded the in-house production with a new vat pasteurizer. This will allow the shop to create more delicious ice cream bases by using cream from local, sustainable dairies.
With that being said, you can expect new flavors with Johnson’s background in experimenting in with local ingredients like prickly pear, mesquite desert honey, Sonoran chiltepins, and pecans from Green Valley.
“Everything at HUB Ice Cream is made right here from scratch,” said Johnson. “From the house-made almond brittle and honeycomb candy, to roasted nuts and fruit, homemade cookies, and hand-rolled waffle cones. Every component is carefully selected and individually crafted in our kitchen for each flavor combination.”
The parlor gets a makeover
The inside of HUB Ice Cream Factory been completely remodeled and rebranded, too.
Over the past few months, Johnson has been collaborating with the HUB crew to give the downtown shop a makeover with new color schemes, bright and sparkly chandeliers, and accents to match the dreamy, desirable treats found on the menu.
Just before the reopening of the parlor, HUB Ice Cream will debut a newly remodeled, vintage 1920’s model-T ice cream truck on Halloween for a special Truck-n-Treat pop-up event. If you’re familiar with the ice cream truck from Isabella’s Ice Cream, you’ll have an idea of what to expect.
In November 2020, the ice cream truck will be available for catering and private events.
HUB Factory Ice Cream is located at 245 E. Congress St. For more information, call (520) 622-0255 or visit hubicecream.com.
Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about MattAt a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.
He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.
If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.
