"Zeds Ice Cream serves a blended-to-order fruit ice cream. A Portland-based ice cream shop expanded into Austin this summer. Zeds Ice Cream is found at 1814 Harvey Street in the Chestnut neighborhood as of mid-June. Zeds’s focus is made-to-order creamy ice cream consisting of vanilla bases (with a vegan option) mixed with fruits. The current menu — which changes monthly — features strawberry, blueberry, cherry, mango, pineapple, and banana. Special creations include the mango sticky rice, where mango ice cream is topped with a coconut cream drizzle and puffed rice; the pina colada with a pineapple ice cream base plus toasted coconut flakes and coconut cream drizzle; and the strawberry paleta, a strawberry ice cream with chamoy syrup and tajin. To help develop the Austin location’s menu, Zeds teamed up with local chef Nick Middleton. The ice creams are available in cones, cups, and half-pints. As for drinks, there are draft beers, wine, cider, and coffee. Zeds’s physical space features a walk-up window and outdoor seating. There are plans to add a food truck in a couple of months. Zeds co-founders Caleb Schmidt and Matt Porter opened the ice cream shop in Portland in 2016. Schmidt was inspired to launch the store after a trip to Auckland, New Zealand to visit family. “I tried the delicious ice cream at a roadside stand and was immediately hooked,” he says, hence why the ice cream is described as New Zealand-style. Schmidt and Porter actually grew up in the Austin and San Antonio areas, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, after which they moved to Portland. They had always wanted to open a location in Austin. The two still operate the Portland shop. The Harvey Street address had previously been home to barbecue restaurant Ed’s BBQ from 2014 to 2016, and Danny’s BBQ before that. Porter and Schmidt live in the neighborhood. Zeds’s Austin hours are from 3 to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and then noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday." - Nadia Chaudhury
