Valley Dairy Restaurants operates a Pennsylvania restaurant chain and makes its own premium ice cream, a tradition that began with the first Valley Dairy Restaurant in 1938. Its ice-cream heritage goes back to Joseph A. Greubel, who began commercial production in Derry in 1884; Fairview Dairy in Windber, purchased in 1946, remains the home of Valley Dairy ice cream. The company says its ice cream is made with fresh ingredients and is sold through its restaurants and select distributors.
Hall's Ice CreamFounded in 1947 when John Allen Hall made ice cream for his wedding, Hall’s Ice Cream still produces its original-recipe ice cream and sherbet beside the family farm in Millerstown, Pennsylvania. One of Central Pennsylvania’s last remaining family ice cream businesses, Hall’s makes its products in small 10-gallon batches and serves them in an old-fashioned parlor as well as through stores and restaurants across the region. The recipes and process have remained essentially unchanged since the company began.MILLERSTOWN, PA
Urban ChurnRooted in a family memory of homemade ice cream, Harrisburg-based Urban Churn handcrafts small-batch ice cream with Pennsylvania grass-fed dairy and natural ingredients. Its 16% butterfat base and globally inspired flavors—from baklava to seasonal sweet potato casserole—give the four Central Pennsylvania shops a distinctly adventurous character, while PA Preferred certification ties the creamery to local farmers and suppliers. Urban Churn also extends its scoop-making to custom desserts, catering, wholesale, and community fundraising.MECHANICSBURG, PA
Seneca FarmsSince opening as a creamery in 1950, Seneca Farms has made homemade ice cream and served hand-prepared American fare near Keuka Lake. Purchased by Joseph Trombley in 1976, the seasonal Penn Yan institution still uses recipes from his family, hand-breads fresh chicken daily and hand-stirs ingredients into more than 50 ice cream flavors. Its original 1950 building and drive-thru survived a 2005 kitchen fire, while the rebuilt operation continues a Finger Lakes tradition of fried chicken, corn fritters and homemade desserts.PENN YAN, NY
Bank Street CreamerySince 1998, Bank Street Creamery has been making handcrafted small-batch ice cream in downtown Easton, with more than 120 flavors rotating through its cases. Formerly The Purple Cow Creamery, the shop was purchased in 2015 by Brooks Minnick, a Wilson native and 22-year Coast Guard veteran, who later partnered with Candace Gail and added vegan gelato alongside the traditional offerings.EASTON, PA