Strickland’s is a family-owned ice cream shop that opened in Akron, Ohio, in 1936, and the original operation is still using its original equipment. 

It has since expanded to five locations in its home state, all franchised except for the original shop, and it recently opened a franchised location in Costa Mesa, Calif. (not its first location in that state — it previously had a franchise on the campus of the University of California at Irvine).  

Strickland’s formula is straightforward: Each location has four ice cream machines, one churning out chocolate ice cream, another producing vanilla, and the other two making a rotating flavor determined at the discretion of the franchisee, with approval of the concept’s franchisors, Father-and-son team Scott and Jacob Margroff. 

They’ve churned out a variety of flavors, banana being a longtime favorite, but the Margroffs say the secret recipe is really their equipment, which, apart from being sturdy, freezes the ice cream quickly, resulting in tiny ice crystals and therefore a creamy mouth feel. But it churns slowly, resulting in a dense texture with minimal air.  

The Margroffs recently shared their approach to operations and flavor development as well as their plans for the future.