Annapolis-based ice cream shop, Always Ice Cream, will be adding two new locations in the Baltimore and Crofton area this summer.
With four ice cream shops in Downtown Annapolis, West Annapolis, Edgewater and Pasadena, brothers Mark and Adam Cohen are set to open new stores. One in the Crofton Station shopping center off of Route 3 will open in August.
The other will open around Memorial Day at The Village of Cross Keys in Baltimore in the Roland Park area.
The Cohen brothers’ family owns Annapolis Ice Cream located on Main Street in the downtown Annapolis area. Always Ice Cream is an off-shoot of the popular venture that they bought from their father Ross Cohen in 2020.
Mark and Adam joined the family business in 2020 after working for Annapolis Bus Co., also of which their father previously owned. After acquiring Annapolis Ice Cream, they started planning a westward expansion. The first Always Ice Cream location opened on the corner of Annapolis Street and Melvin Avenue in West Annapolis in May of 2021 and their reach has grown significantly since that point.
The shop offers a wide variety of ice cream options including the popular “Blue Angles” flavor which includes a mix of fresh blueberries and marshmallows. The West Annapolis location also has a flavor called “Retrievers Rock” inspired by the West Annapolis elementary school mascot. The flavor features a vanilla ice cream with a “blue and green school spirit swirl,” said Mark, 30.
In September 2021, they took over the Daily Scoop located in Pasadena on Mountain Road. Then in December 2021, they opened an Always Ice Cream location in Edgewater which now is the hub where all the ice cream that is served at the three locations is made. They also have an ice cream truck that tours the area serving at local events, food truck parties and other gatherings. The Edgewater store supports the Annapolis Ice Cream Company and both Always Ice Cream locations.
The Daily Scoop still makes their own ice cream, Mark said.
“If you go in that store, you’re gonna get the same exact everything as you would have for the past 20 years,” said Adam, 33.
Around September of 2022, the brothers took their business a step further and started selling pints in grocery stores in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Always Ice Cream pint can be found in local Annapolis markets such as Graul’s Market at the Annapolis and Cape St. Claire locations. Other markets are located in Baltimore in Eddie’s Grocery Store on Roland Avenue and Charles Street. They also sell ice cream to around a hundred restaurants, including Atlas Restaurant Group, Mark said.
When Always Ice Cream launched, the Cohen brothers started to partner with the local community and other organizations to create custom flavors for spirit nights and other donation events. This is the second year the ice cream company partnered with the Anne Arundel County Library to create a custom flavor that is sold in all of their locations for the month of February. Staff are encouraged to pitch ideas for what the custom flavor could be, then, the brothers take the ideas to social media for a vote.
Last month, Always Ice Cream promoted “Dragons Love Toffee” which was a caramel ice cream with chocolate chips and toffee. A portion of the sales of the custom flavor is then donated to the library at the end of the month. This They donated $2,500 from the sales this year.
“We’re ready to do more spirit nights and collaborate with more schools and fundraisers and charities in the area,” Mark said. “We would love to start talking to people out there about doing fundraisers and kind of getting closer with the community because we’re excited for it. That’s what ice cream stores are about.”
They are preparing to partner with Make a Wish Foundation in April, Mark said.
