Founded in Palm Harbor in 1999 by Bill and Susan Strachan, Strachan’s Ice Cream & Desserts has become a mainstay for anybody with a sweet tooth in the Tampa Bay region. The brand has since grown to include locations in Dunedin, Clearwater, Safety Harbor, and South Tampa, and this spring, Strachan’s announced the upcoming launch of its sixth location, this time in Pinellas Park.
“We can’t thank you all enough for the years and years all of love and support!” said the announcement.
Strachan’s is known for a wide variety of sumptuous ice cream flavors including Carrot Cake, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Egg Nog, and Orange Pineapple—and that’s just a few taken at random.
“My personal favorite is our Cookie Monster ice cream with yummy yummy sauce,” co-owner John Krillies told What Now on Thursday. Krillies owns and operates Strachan’s in partnership with Lucas Krillies. “But we really run the gamut on desserts. There’s carrot cake, peanut butter pies, chocolate covered key lime pies on a stick, chocolates, and fudge.”
The Strachans first expanded their brand to Dunedin in 2008. The Krillies, who own a several other businesses in the area, already had their eyes on the brand when it went up for sale a few years later—“But we were outbid,” Krillies says. A second opportunity to purchase the brand came up once more during the difficult pandemic years, when the company began to experience major staffing issues, and they didn’t miss it.
“By that point, we had people who had been working with us for 20 years, so staffing wasn’t a problem. It was the right place at the right time.”
Now, the Strachan’s brand is gearing up for the in Pinellas Park, with a grand opening planned sometime in the next several months. It’s opening at 4053 Park Blvd, and will feature an update to the brand’s look that will feel familiar but fresh—an update that will follow at the other Strachan’s locations later.
Krillies says the plan is to continue to growing the brand, but at a moderate rate. “We don’t necessarily know how many we want to do. We like moderate growth. We like calculated risk. And now, because of the brand that has been built up over all these years, people have started to seek us out as tenants. So we’re very lucky: we get to be choosy.”
Krillies said one more location is currently in the pipeline, but the particular locale is still under wraps.
You can keep up with all things Strachan’s by following @strachans_icecream on Instagram.
