Zeds Real Fruit Ice Cream, an Austin-based ice cream shop known for its New Zealand-style soft serve blended with frozen fruit, is preparing to open its first San Antonio location in the Alamo Heights area.
The shop is planned for The Collection shopping center at 7959 Broadway, bringing the concept to one of San Antonio’s established shopping and dining corridors. According to the San Antonio CultureMap, work on the new location is scheduled to begin in December. An official opening date has not been announced.
Zeds Real Fruit Ice Cream began as a food truck in Portland, Oregon, after founders Caleb Schmidt and Matt Porter discovered New Zealand’s fruit-blended ice cream during a trip to the country in 2015. Inspired by the treat, the pair introduced their own version, initially operating a van outside the Oregon Zoo.
Both founders had connections to Texas, and the business moved to Austin in 2021, opening its first brick-and-mortar shop in a former barbecue restaurant. Entrepreneurs Mack Brown and TJ Brogran took over ownership in 2022, shifting the company’s operations from Oregon to Texas. The concept has since expanded to three locations, according to the the publication mentioned above.
Unlike traditional soft-serve shops, Zeds uses a specialized Little Jem machine to blend vanilla ice cream with frozen fruit. Each order is prepared individually, with the fruit and ice cream mixed together to create a smooth, creamy treat with a distinctive swirl. The process takes less than a minute, allowing customers to customize their orders without a lengthy wait.
Customers can further personalize their ice cream with sauces such as honey, coconut cream and peanut butter, along with toppings including streusel, buñuelo crumbs and gummy bears. The combination of fruit and ice cream offers a different take on the traditional scoop shop, with the fruit blended directly into the soft serve rather than simply served on top.
At its original Austin location, Zeds also offers beer, wine and coffee. Whether those additional offerings will be available at the upcoming San Antonio shop has not been confirmed.
The planned opening comes as the Alamo Heights area continues to attract restaurant and retail concepts from across Texas and beyond. Other businesses reported as upcoming additions to the area include Swedish Hill, Jack & Harry’s, Hudson House, Los Tios and PopUp Bagels.
Zeds has not publicly announced the San Antonio opening, and further details about its menu, operating hours and launch plans remain unavailable.
WhatNow reached out to Zeds Real Fruit Ice Cream for additional information about the planned San Antonio location but had not received a response at the time of publication. This article will be updated as more details become available.
