Three Twins

Three Twins Ice Cream was an American organic ice cream company based in California, established in 2005. Three Twins owned and operated three brick and mortar ice cream shops in Northern California and was a nationwide wholesaler of ice cream products.[1] It closed in April 2020.[2]

Three Twins Ice Cream
TypePrivate
IndustryIce cream shop and manufacturer
FateClosure as result of Covid-19 pandemic
Founded2005 (2005) in Terra Linda, San Rafael, California
FounderNeal Gottlieb
DefunctApril 17, 2020 (2020-04-17)
Headquarters
Petaluma, California
,
US
Number of locations
7 (at peak in 2017)
Area served
California
ProductsOrganic gourmet ice cream
OwnerNeal Gottlieb
WebsiteArchive of company's official website

History

Three Twins was established in 2005 in Terra Linda, San Rafael, California.[3][4] It was started by Cornell University graduate Neal Gottlieb[5] and was named for Gottlieb, his twin brother, and his brother's wife, who is also a twin.[6] It was the first organic ice cream shop chain in the U.S.[7] The company began distributing its products nationally after Whole Foods found them selling their ice cream at the Berkeley Farmers Market.[8]

Three Twins opened a factory in Petaluma, California in 2010.[9] In mid-2019 it moved all manufacturing operations to the former plant of Zurheide Ice Cream in Sheboygan, Wisconsin (which it had purchased in 2014); its corporate headquarters remained in Petaluma.[10]

On April 17, 2020, the company announced it was closing due to financial problems compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.[11]

Locations

By November 2017, the company owned and operated four shops, in San Francisco, Larkspur, and Napa in addition to San Rafael, and licensed stores in Berkeley, Santa Monica, and at the San Francisco airport, and was exporting to South Korea.[12] A licensed location at Fisherman's Wharf had closed. The San Francisco shop, in the Lower Haight, closed in January 2018.[13] By April 2020, the Santa Monica location had also closed and the company had licensed/franchise locations in Tokyo and Seoul.[11]

Products

Three Twins' flavors rotated between core offerings such as Mint Confetti (mint ice cream with flecks of dark chocolate) and Strawberry Je Ne Sais Quoi (strawberry with a hint of balsamic vinegar), and specialty flavors such as Cookie Jar (vanilla with three types of cookies).[7] Its original shop garnered attention with some offbeat offerings, such as Mutton Vindaloo and the"most expensive sundae in the world" (no takers yet)[5] and a "Sergio Romo Mexican Chocolate" flavor with the motto "It only tastes illegal."[14][15] The expensive dessert was an Absurdity Sundae that cost $3,333.33 and included banana split drenched in syrups from rare dessert wines (German Trockenbeerenauslese, 1960s vintage port, and a Chateau D’Yquem).[16]

References
  1. King, Rachael (April 10, 2013). "Three Twins to Return To the Lower Haight". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  2. Irwin, Heather (2020-04-18). "Petaluma's Three Twins Ice Cream Goes Out of Business". Sonoma Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  3. Stevens, Loralee (April 26, 2010). "Organic ice cream maker Three Twins adds production plant". North Bay Business Journal.
  4. Harlib, Leslie (October 4, 2007). "Cuisine Scene: Marin to get its first Thai fusion restaurant". Marin Independent Journal.
  5. Finz, Stacy (June 2, 2012). "Neal Gottlieb is founder of Three Twins Ice Cream". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  6. "About". Three Twins Ice Cream. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  7. Herzog, Brad (January 11, 2010). "Eco-Chip: Neal Gottlieb '99 scoops his own organic ice cream". Cornell Alumni Magazine.
  8. Borzykowski, Bryan (April 1, 2014). "From farmers' markets to mass market". CNNMoney. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  9. Deseran, Sara (May 22, 2010). "Best Lick: Best of San Francisco 2010: Eat + Drink". 7x7 SF.
  10. Porter, Houston (June 25, 2019). "Three Twins shifts Petaluma production to Wisconsin". The North Bay Business Journal. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  11. Duggan, Tara (April 17, 2020). "Three Twins ice cream company closes, citing coronavirus pandemic". San Francisco Chronicle.
  12. Dunn, James (November 6, 2017). "Petaluma's Three Twins tastes success in hot ice cream market". North Bay Business Journal.
  13. Hammerl, Teresa (January 27, 2018). "Scoop: 'Three Twins Ice Cream' Closing In Lower Haight". Hoodline.
  14. "Sergio Romo Ice Cream With Pro-Immigration Reform Message To Be Launched". Huffington Post. June 17, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  15. Hernandez, Sandra (September 17, 2013). "Giants' Sergio Romo pitches immigration reform, one pint at a time". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  16. "10 Most Expensive Ice Creams In The World". TheHumbleRich. July 8, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
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