 This entry refers to a departed business that has closed or left town. All information here is for historical reference only. |
Ben & Jerry's from the outside 
Ben & Jerry's right before closing for good. Only two flavors left.
| Location |
| 500 1st Street , in the Davis Commons |
| Official website |
| Local Website |
| Company Website |
A note from Ben & Jerry's Davis:
Dear Valued Davis Customers, We at Ben & Jerry's thank you for your many years of patronage. This location is now closed. If you have discount coupons (not free cone certificates), they will be accepted at our San Francisco stores.
On their last day of operation, Feb. 29, 2012, they offered small scoops for $2 and large scoops for $3. They also sold pints of Red Velvet Cake ice cream at three for $9. They closed earlier than usual, at 5 p.m.
Was there anything better for dealing with the hot summer weather in Davis than a delicious Ben & Jerry's ice cream or frozen yogurt sundae in a freshly baked waffle cone? No, there wasn't! Which is why some of us were very disturbed to hear that B&J would be leaving. Tragically, the store's last day in Davis was February 29, 2012.
And even if it wasn't a hot summer day it is a fact that ice cream in the cold makes you feel more amenable to the temperature. Just like drinking something hot in the summer makes you feel better. Nevertheless, Ben & Jerry's also offered hot chocolate, apple cider, and coffee in the winter. And if it was raining, the scooper might have been willing to give you some free hot fudge.
Ben & Jerry's also offered ice cream cakes and they required 24 hours advance notice.
They had Fair Trade CertifiedTM vanilla, coffee, and chocolate ice creams, and several other flavors incorporating conscientously-chosen ingredients. This scoop shop was opened in 1997 and was originally owned by Max Gitnick and Michael Gale of Ben & Jerry's of California, based out of Manhattan Beach. It was sold in 2005 to Sam Hensley of Concord based Uptown 33, and since 2009 the Davis franchise location was owned by Roger Kaufman of the NYSF Partners, based out of San Francisco. In the year 2000, Ben & Jerry's became a subsidiary of Unilever but their original social mission has continued to be part of the company's practices.
That ice cream sure can get scooped in a real wild fashion. Look at GavinJensen toss it up in the air and catch it. Don't try this at home folks.
Events
- Every third Wednesday of the month Ben & Jerry's gave 40% of its total sales to a charity.
- They held an annual Free Cone Day as well as the Vermonster Challenge. The first team of four to finish a Vermonster won a free ice cream for a year.
Noteworthy employees
Former town character Rob Roy was the manager and a cake decorator/counter boy for the shop between September 2002 and March 2009. Rob exhibits his scoop-tossing skills in this video.
The best ice cream in town, but unfortunately pricey. Much more impressive than taking your date to Baskin Robbins, though. Going to Baskin Robbins I can get cheap, uninteresting ice cream. At least at Ben & Jerry's I get something that tastes absolutely delicious. —PhilipNeustrom
Good stuff, especially considering how warm it gets in Davis during the summer - Plutos followed by B&J is good stuff. — EvanEdwards
I often have pregnant urges to eat Ben and Jerry's ice cream. SOOOO GROOOOD! (great + good!) KatieWillheim is the coolest ice cream scooper in aaaaall of DAVIS. YAAAAAY. —DorotheaChow
And if you really want to see some crazy then check out the Ben & Jerry's Vermonster.
2007-04-13 13:32:28 Very pricey, but for a really nice summer treat, get one of their lemonade/sorbet mixes. It's about half the size, twice the calories (and about the same price) as a regular Jamba juice, but sooo good. —AbbYu
2007-09-19 15:30:55 Since Rob Roy often rehearses his band in my garage, I think I should get free ice cream. —JamesJobe
2007-09-25 21:04:25 So rich....oh well.. when I need my fix, I go buy a pint at Nugget. —atwong
2010-03-31 00:14:32 This place has great ice cream, but it is too expensive. Also their cakes are not as well made as Baskin-Robbins. The cake decorator at BR, Sam, can do anything with a cake, she is much more creative. However, I do like the workers uniforms and the relaxed atmosphere of Ben and Jerrys and the fact that they are more friendly to the environment. —tneeley
2011-05-14 21:18:23 Brittney and her crew did a FABULOUS job on my birthday cake. They put a dragon on it! If you want an ice cream cake, they can probably do whatever you need. —RianAMcMurtry
2011-05-14 21:44:43 Its really great ice cream and the employees are very nice. But not worth the price. —Dozer
2011-11-03 18:07:53 Ben there. Bye, bye! —BruceHansen
2011-11-03 23:02:18 Such sad news about Whole Foods. Regardless of how this effects my old workplace, Whole Foods is better situated further from downtown (and further from the locally owned Co-op). —RobRoy
- I'm curious — what's the connection between Whole Foods coming in and Ben and Jerry's leaving? (if you're at liberty to say). —CovertProfessor
2011-11-22 21:46:40 the girl who was working tonight was awesome! super friendly. give that girl a raise! —RebelYell
2012-02-01 16:51:50 I've been a patron here since I was in undergrad...for a total of 6 years now I think. My recent visits since last year have been very disappointing. The portion you get for a small sized ice cream is now half of what's offered before, essentially doubling the price. The last time I went to get a milkshake I got only 80% of my cup filled, and the server told me that it has always been this way and it's company policy. I've bought ice cream here longer than that server has worked there, so I know that wasn't the case. I used to visit a lot more often, too bad. —winddolphin
2012-03-05 10:10:05 I love this place and I am sad to see it go. :( —LauraSaldana
2012-03-21 08:28:36 Whoa what happened? This was a primo spot downtown. Is this a froyo victim? —OliviaY
2012-05-14 08:25:07 I haven't worked here for three years but I will say that the saturation of Davis' market with the sub-par fro-yo shops all around downtown certainly contributed to the downfall of this shop. However, since I'm currently not running for anything and not worried about them as landlord's, I'll say that Fulcrum Properties sucks. I managed the Ben & Jerry's in Roseville, CA (2000-2001) and in Davis, CA (2002-2009). Both locations were in a complex owned by Fulcrum Properties and I am not a fan of their style. It is sad for me, of the five stores I managed, the only store still standing is in Berkeley, CA. Yes, Ben & Jerry's is a premium quality and therefore not cheap but if you want the best car in the world it will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. You could have a couple scoops of the best ice cream in the world in a freshly baked waffle cone for about $5 and that it that not too high of a price for quality compared to the competition. Anyways, the slow death of Borders was also an affect on Davis Ben & Jerry's... as well as Target siphoning shoppers East. I worry for Davis' downtown but, as Colbert would say, the market has spoken. —RobRoy
2012-05-15 11:37:46 Not a big fan of sweets, but I truly miss getting a scoop (or 2) of the sweet cream and cookies every summer. Also, the people who usually worked there were always engaging and not hating every minute of working. At least it appeared that way to the point of always making it a positive experience for my family. —Aaron.Curtin
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