Museum of Ice Cream closes doors in S.F.
San Francisco still has such local ice cream legends as Ghirardelli, Mitchell’s, Swensen’s and Humphry Slocombe. But say farewell to a onceballyhooed “museum” best known for $38 tickets and a swimming pool of artificial sprinkles.
Departing the scene is the Museum of Ice Cream, a perky amalgam of pinkhued displays that opened with fanfare in 2017 to celebrate, not just a calorific indulgence, but “a universal symbol of happiness ... and a powerful force to bring people together.”
With considerably less fanfare, the New Yorkbased operation has now removed all references to a San Francisco outpost on its website. The landmark
bank building from 1910 that it occupied at 1 Grant Ave. is devoid of signage.
The purveyor of “multisensorial expressions of ice cream that cater to the appetites of our generation” did not respond to requests for comment on Monday. News of the closure was first reported in the San Francisco Business Times.
The museum debuted here in September of 2017 and quickly sold out tickets for what then was billed as a fivemonth stay. For $38, visitors could wander through Instagramfriendly spaces that included “a candy garden, psychedelic rainbow unicorns, a pink rock climbing wall, banana swings, an allpink diner with a jukebox and a sprinkle pool,” The Chronicle reported at the time.
Not real sprinkles affixed to tall scoops of chocolate chip, alas. Think luridly colored bits of plastic coated in what the museum described as “antimicrobial germ bloc.”
One year later, the popup supposedly became permanent, the first such move by the young company that before had touched down briefly in New York, Miami and Los Angeles. A cafe was added and the museum announced plans to sell alcohol in a bid for repeat customers.
“Our customers have said, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing to have ice cream shakes with alcohol?’ ” cofounder Manish Vora told The Chronicle.
The Board of Supervisors did not agree, rejecting the application in the spring of 2019. One year later came the coronavirus pandemic. The museum never reopened — although the Pantheoninspired structure with its granite columns and concrete dome hosted a polling station during last November’s presidential election.