Swensen's Inc. is an international

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

s that was founded in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, United States.

History

The company was founded in 1948 by Earle Swensen, who learned to make ice cream while serving in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Swensen opened his first shop at the corner of Union and Hyde Streets, along the

cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** ...

tracks in

Russian Hill Russian Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California. It is named after one of San Francisco's 44 hills, and one of its original "Seven Hills". Location Russian Hill is directly to the north (and slightly downhill) from Nob Hill, to t ...

in San Francisco at what had been a failed

ice cream parlor Ice cream parlors (American English) or ice cream parlours (British English) are parlor 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- ...

. Although

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

was his lifelong favorite, he developed more than 150 flavors, which he marketed under the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

"Good as Father Used to Make". The original store sold ice cream and other frozen dessert specialties (such as

sundae A sundae (Sunday Ice) () is an ice cream frozen dessert of American origin that typically consists of one or more scoops of ice cream topped with a sweet sauce or syrup and other toppings such as sprinkles, whipped cream, marshmallows, chocola ...

s and

banana split A banana split is an American ice cream-based dessert consisting of a peeled banana cut in half lengthwise, and served with ice cream and sauce between the two pieces. There are many variations, but the classic banana split is made with three sc ...

s), with primarily take out service. Later other Swensen's franchisees added indoor seating and offered various types of food, including

sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

es and

hamburger A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...

Swensen sold the rights to franchise Swensen's Ice Cream Factories and Restaurants to William Meyer and investors in the 1970s but retained exclusive rights in San Francisco and continued to operate his original store (which still exists today) until 1994, a year before his death at age 83. Under new management the company expanded to 400 stores, mostly franchise locations, by the 1980s. However, in the 1990s it contracted to half of that size before being acquired and expanding again, mostly in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. U.S. stores continued to close until only three were left, including the original San Francisco ice cream parlor and the main restaurant in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. In 2022, the last U.S. franchise location closed in

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, after 44 years, leaving the San Francisco store as the last Swensen's in the country. Today the company is owned by International Franchise Inc. (IFI) of Markham,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, which bought the franchise business from former frozen food manufacturer

CoolBrands International CoolBrands International was a Canadian frozen food and dessert company based in Markham, Ontario. Originally a frozen yoghurt vendor, CoolBrands acquired Eskimo Pie Corporation in 2000 and Chipwich in 2002. It acquired the Breyers and Light ' ...

in 2006. IFI also owns such notable brands as

Yogen Früz Yogen Früz is a Canadian chain of frozen yogurt and smoothie stores that also serves healthy alternative food products. The chain is run through company-owned, franchised, and non-traditional partnerships. The chain operates worldwide and has it ...

, I Can't Believe It's Yogurt (ICBY), Golden Swirl, Yogurty's, Dreamery and Bresler's Ice Cream. The Swensen's chain now includes about 300 franchise outlets worldwide including locations in Asia, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. In India, the company opened its first store in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

at Mantri Mall, marking the first of 80 stores over the next 5 years scheduled to open all over South India. Swensen's is also now open in

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

. In March 2014, Swensen's opened its first restaurant in

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. In 1971, Hans Biermann opened a Swensen's in Santa Ana, CA. 18 years later he parted ways with Swensen's and changed the name to Hans’ Homemade Ice Cream and Deli. He still uses the same basic Swensen's recipes and has opened stores in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

and

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as o ...

Popular culture

Swensen's was featured as a prize on the 1987 version of ''

Super Sloppy Double Dare ''Double Dare'' is an American game show in which two teams compete to win cash and prizes by answering trivia questions and completing messy stunts called physical challenges. It originally ran from 1986 to 1993. A revival ran in 2000, and th ...

'' and on the 1987 Euro version of ''

Finders Keepers Finders keepers, sometimes extended as the children's rhyme finders keepers, losers weepers, is an English adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first may claim it for themselves to own, by the “f ...

'' and was featured in the 1985 film ''

The Goonies ''The Goonies'' is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner from a screenplay by Chris Columbus based on a story by Steven Spielberg and starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin (in his film debut), Jeff Cohen ...

''. A Swensen's store can be glimpsed in the mall sequence of the 1985 film ''

Commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

'' starring

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

, and also in the opening scene of the 1978 film The Silent Partner, which starred

Elliott Gould Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. Gould's breakthrough role was in the film ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The ...

. ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

''s "George Costanza" eats Swensen's ice cream after his tonsils are fully removed in the episode, "The Heart Attack." The characters Stacy Hamilton and Linda Barrett originally worked at a Swensen’s store in the 1981 book Fast Times at Ridgemont High but was changed to a Perry’s Pizza store for its 1982 film adaptation.

References

External links

Swensen's main USA restaurant
located in Miami, Florida
Swensen's Thailand website

Swensen's Singapore website
(in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

)
Swensen's Worldwide website
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218092723/http://www.swensens.com/ , date=2014-12-18

on expansion in Asia 1948 establishments in California Restaurants established in 1948 Restaurant franchises 2006 mergers and acquisitions Ice cream parlors Restaurant chains in the United States Companies based in San Francisco Restaurants in San Francisco Restaurants in Singapore Companies based in Markham, Ontario CoolBrands International

History

Popular culture

References

Further reading

External links