Confidential turnkey ice cream and dessert shop for sale in a prime Arlington / Northern Virginia retail location.

This fully built-out shop specializes in Thai-style handcrafted rolled ice cream, milkshakes, crepes, boba teas, slushies, dessert cups, and custom frozen desserts. The concept is highly visual and customer-friendly: customers can watch ice cream being made fresh from scratch on advanced chilled plates, creating an entertaining in-store experience for kids, teenagers, families, seniors, and local residents.

The shop is located in a busy Arlington County retail center surrounded by complementary businesses, including family activities, classes, restaurants, and grocery shopping. It benefits from local neighborhood traffic, school and family activity, weekend demand, summer traffic, delivery platforms, and catering/event opportunities. The business also attracts customers from Northern Virginia and Maryland through word of mouth, delivery apps, social media, and events.

The business is built around fresh, made-to-order desserts. Ice cream bases are made in-house without preservatives, additives, thickeners, or stabilizers. Customers can choose from a wide selection of flavors, toppings, and mix-ins, and the shop can also create custom flavor combinations based on customer preferences. The final product can be simple, classic, or fully customized.

Current staffing includes 1 full-time employee and 7 part-time employees. The shop operates under a semi-absentee ownership model. Staff handle customer service, rolled ice cream, drinks, crepes, prep work, cleaning, and daily operations. The current owner mainly supports inventory shopping, scheduling, finance, vendor communication, emails, and issue resolution as needed.

There is no directly similar ice cream shop in the immediate neighborhood. The business offers a differentiated menu with Thai-style rolled ice cream, milkshakes, crepes, boba teas, slushies, dessert cups, and catering/event sales.

The sale includes equipment, menu, recipes, POS setup, vendor contacts, operating procedures, staff structure, social media accounts, normal operating inventory at closing, and seller training.

Key highlights:

Asking price: $159,000
2025 gross revenue: approximately $177,000
Equipment value: approximately $30,000
Inventory included at normal operating level
Approximately 650–700 sq ft fully built-out shop
Approximately $4,500 base rent plus about $800/month in utilities and related charges
Lease through June 30, 2027, with 5-year option
Active delivery platforms
Established catering/event revenue
Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok presence
Partial seller financing may be considered for a qualified buyer with strong down payment
Seller training and transition support included

Growth opportunities include stronger social media marketing, expanded catering services, school and community partnerships, delivery promotions, seasonal menu items, loyalty programs, local business partnerships, and increased owner involvement. A hands-on owner could improve sales, labor control, marketing, and customer retention.

Reason for selling: Owner is focusing on other business priorities and is looking for a clean transition to the right buyer.

Detailed financials, lease details, and supporting reports are available to qualified buyers after screening and NDA.