Fentons Creamery is a historic

ice cream parlor Ice cream parlors (American English) or ice cream parlours (British English) are places that sell ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and/or frozen yogurt to consumers. Ice cream is typically sold as regular ice cream (also called hard-packed or hard s ...

and restaurant located on Piedmont Avenue in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, United States. Fentons is the state’s longest continually operating creamery, with a small herd of dairy cows in

West Marin West Marin is the largest rural region of Marin County, California. The West Marin Chamber of Commerce includes seven unincorporated communities in its definition of West Marin: Point Reyes Station, Olema, Stinson Beach, Bolinas, Tomales, Dill ...

History

Eldridge Seth Fenton opened Fentons Creamery in 1894 on the corner of 41st and Howe streets. The business moved to its present location in 1961, a few blocks away. In 1894, Eldridge Seth’s grandson, Melvin Fenton, was responsible for creating Rocky Road, as well as Swiss Milk Chocolate and Toasted Almond. Fentons was then destroyed by an arson fire in 2001. The arsonists claimed the owner of Fentons encouraged them to start the fire. Over $2 million was spent to rebuild it with a grill, more tables, and an expanded menu. Fentons was featured in the 2009 animated film '' Up''. Director Pete Docter, producer Jonas Rivera, and other

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

employees are regular customers to Fentons. Docter said that they decided to include it in their movie after the original script had the ice cream parlor named after a different place on the East Coast. The ice cream parlor also claims to be the original birthplace of

rocky road ice cream Rocky road ice cream is a chocolate flavored ice cream. Though there are variations from the original flavor, it traditionally comprises chocolate ice cream, nuts, and whole or diced marshmallows. History According to one source, the flavor ...

. Fentons candy maker George Farren made a rocky road candy bar and decided to blend it into an ice cream flavor. This inspired his friends William Dreyer and Joseph Edy of

Dreyer's Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc. ("Dreyer's"), is an American ice cream company, founded in 1928 in Oakland, California, where its present-day headquarters office remains. The company's two signature brands, ''Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream'' and ''Edy's ...

to start making their own version, but substituting almonds for walnuts. However, Dreyer's still continues to market its product as "The Original Rocky Road". A second location opened in 2007 in

Vacaville, California Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it t ...

, as well as a shop in the food court of the

Oakland International Airport Oakland International Airport is an international airport in Oakland, California, United States, 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown located in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by the Port of Oakland and has domestic passenger f ...

In the news

In February 2016 to commemorate the NFL’s 50th Superbowl (to be played in Santa Clara’s Levi Stadium) Fentons Creamery created the “Cookie Bowl 50,” a 10-pound sundae of 12 scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream, plus boulders of

Oreo Oreo () (stylized as OREO) is a brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two biscuits or cookie pieces with a sweet creme filling. It was introduced by Nabisco on March 6, 1912, and through a series of corporate acquisitions, mergers and split ...

cookies drenched in hot fudge, pineapple, strawberry, marshmallow, and caramel toppings, whipped cream, Oreo Crumbles and cherries—all served in a bowl made from Oreos. In March 2021, Fentons Creamery made national news when a "very generous" patron left a $1,000 tip for their staff. The gratuity came with a receipt for a $63.31 order, on which the customer wrote "stay well" with a smiley face.

Notable Awards

#1 Top Dessert in America

The Banana Special was Named the #1 Top Dessert in America by

The Food Channel The Food Channel (not affiliated with Food Network) is an American consumer Web site with food recipes, news, reviews and advice. The site compiles information to produce food industry trends and aims to be a gateway for all things food. Site ...

. The dessert is made with a ripe, split banana and topped with three pounds of home-churned vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream. Fresh strawberries and pineapples are ladled on top, followed by a gooey river of rich chocolate sauce.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.fentonscreamery.com/
Fenton's Creamery celebrates 120 years in business - The Reporter
Buildings and structures in Oakland, California Ice cream parlors in the United States Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area Tourist attractions in Oakland, California Restaurants established in 1894 Companies based in Oakland, California 1894 establishments in California 19th century in Oakland, California