Fentons Creamery is a historic

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- ...

and

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 ...

located on Piedmont Avenue in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, United States. Fentons is the state’s longest continually operating creamery, with a small herd of dairy cows in

West Marin West Marin is the largest region of Marin County, California, which is also rural. West Marin comprises the westernmost towns of Point Reyes Station, Olema, Stinson Beach, Bolinas, Tomales, Dillon Beach, and Inverness. West Marin is genera ...

History

Eldridge Seth Fenton opened Fentons Creamery in 1894 on the corner of 41st and Howe streets. The business moved to its present location in 1961, a few blocks away. In 1894, Eldridge Seth’s grandson, Melvin Fenton, was responsible for creating Rocky Road, as well as Swiss Milk Chocolate and Toasted

Almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

. Fentons was then destroyed by an

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

fire in 2001. The arsonists claimed the owner of Fentons encouraged them to start the fire. Over $2 million was spent to rebuild it with a grill, more tables, and an expanded menu. Fentons was featured in the 2009 animated film '' Up''. Director

Pete Docter Peter Hans Docter (born October 9, 1968) is an American filmmaker and animator, who has served as chief creative officer (CCO) of Pixar since 2018. He has directed the company's animated films ''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001), ''Up (2009 film), Up'' ( ...

, producer

Jonas Rivera Jonas H. Rivera (born May 2, 1971) is an American film producer. As of September 2022, he is the executive vice president for film production at Pixar Animation Studios, overseeing operational issues (as distinguished from creative issues) for ...

, and other

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

employees are regular customers to Fentons. Docter said that they decided to include it in their movie after the original script had the ice cream parlor named after a different place on the East Coast. The ice cream parlor also claims to be the original birthplace of rocky road ice cream. Fentons candy maker George Farren made a rocky road candy bar and decided to blend it into an ice cream flavor. This inspired his friends William Dreyer and Joseph Edy of

Dreyer's Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc. (or simply Dreyer's) is an American ice cream company, founded in 1928 in Oakland, California. The company's two signature brands, ''Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream'' and ''Edy's Grand Ice Cream'', are named after its foun ...

to start making their own version, but substituting almonds for walnuts. However, Dreyer's still continues to market its product as "The Original Rocky Road". A second location opened in 2007 in

Vacaville, California Vacaville is a city located in Solano County, California, United States. It is located from Sacramento, California, Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is on the edge of the Sacramento Valley in Northern California. The city was founded in ...

, as well as a shop in the food court of the

Oakland International Airport Oakland International Airport is an international airport in Oakland, California, United States. The airport is located south of downtown Oakland and east of San Francisco, serving the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The airport is ...

In the news

Ice cream and sherbet at Fentons Creamery

In February 2016, to commemorate

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) ...

(played in Santa Clara's

Levi's Stadium Levi's Stadium is an American football stadium located in Santa Clara, California, United States, just west of the much larger city of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has served as the home venue for the National Football League (N ...

), Fentons Creamery created the "Cookie Bowl 50", a 10-pound sundae of 12 scoops of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream, plus boulders of

Oreo Oreo (; stylized in all caps) is an American brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two cocoa biscuits with a sweet fondant filling. Oreos were introduced in 1912 by Nabisco, and the brand has been owned by Mondelez International since its me ...

cookies drenched in hot fudge, pineapple, strawberry, marshmallow, and caramel toppings, whipped cream, Oreo Crumbles and cherries—all served in a bowl made from Oreos. In March 2021, Fentons Creamery made national news when a "very generous" patron left a $1,000 tip for their staff. The gratuity came with a receipt for a $63.31 order, on which the customer wrote "stay well" with a smiley face.

Notable awards

#1 Top Dessert in America

The Banana Special was Named the #1 Top Dessert in America by

The Food Channel The Food Channel (not affiliated with Food Network) is an American consumer website with food recipes, news, reviews and advice. The site compiles information to produce food industry trends and aims to be a gateway for all things food. Site c ...

. The dessert is made with a ripe, split banana and topped with three pounds of home-churned vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream. Fresh strawberries and pineapples are ladled on top, followed by a gooey river of rich chocolate sauce.

References

External links

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Fenton's Creamery celebrates 120 years in business - The Reporter
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726090651/http://www.thereporter.com/business/ci_26181464/fentons-creamery-celebrates-120-years-business , date=2014-07-26 Buildings and structures in Oakland, California Ice cream parlors in California Restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area Tourist attractions in Oakland, California Restaurants established in 1894 Companies based in Oakland, California 1894 establishments in California 19th century in Oakland, California