A popular Valley ice creamery is about to take over an iconic Tempe property. Next spring, Novel Ice Cream will open in the historic bungalow and adobe houses where the New American restaurant House of Tricks served diners for 34 years.
Novel will open its window-service ice cream parlor on Seventh Street between Forest and Myrtle avenues. Taking over the storied location of House of Tricks, which shuttered in 2022, was a “no-brainer,” says Shawn Allard, the owner of Novel Ice Cream. “We just found such a perfect space,” he adds.
Since its 2017 debut Novel has become one of the most popular ice cream shops in the Valley. Today the ice creamery serves scoops from quirky, tiny shops on Grand Avenue near downtown Phoenix and in a hidden alley packed with small businesses in Mesa. Its ice cream truck, sporting a swirly wrap of bubble-gum pink and neon yellow, is unmissable when it pulls up around town…