Fosselman's Ice Cream

The inspiration

Fosselman's began as an ice cream venture founded by Christian Fosselman in Iowa in 1919, and the family moved to California's San Gabriel Valley in 1924¹ . The shop in Alhambra runs on a simple philosophy: hand-make ice cream with quality ingredients and no preservatives² . Everything is still made on the premises in small batch freezers, served in an old-fashioned soda fountain setting .

Who's behind it

John brings his passion for cooking to developing new and exotic flavors, and the family has kept the business alive across four generations^2,1 .

What to order

Popular dish

Cookie Monster^3,1

a popular blue treat loaded with Oreos, graham crackers and cookie dough

• Horchata, lychee and taro: flavors that reflect the Asian and Latino communities around Alhambra^3,4
• Coffee & Cookies: uses freeze-dried Colombian coffee, a blend the family has relied on for 70 years¹
• Malt or banana split: soda fountain classics served in the 1940s-style parlor¹
• Ice cream cakes: custom and seasonal designs, from heart-shaped red velvet to holiday molds

What people are saying

Visitors describe a place that feels like a leap back in time, an old-school parlor that has been scooping for more than a century³ . Writers keep returning to the theme of a family that never changed its base recipe and still makes its ice cream on site^5,4 . The mix of classic scoops with regional flavors comes up again and again³ .

Why you should try it

If you're staying nearby, this is a family-run parlor with more than a century of ice cream making behind it^3,1 . Stop in for a malt or a sundae and taste a century of San Gabriel Valley history⁴ .