Openings

Bardot Bars Invading SoCal, Opening First in Arcadia

Lips incorporated into every bite
Lips incorporated into every bite Photo: Bardot Bars

A new concept in the world of ice cream is firming up, as the forces behind a new chain called Bardot announce an opening in La Jolla in the next couple of weeks, to be followed by the opening of a flagship store in Arcadia’s Westfield Santa Anita and later, a new store in Westfield West Covina. Kind of like that luxury ice cream curiously named after an accommodating brand of prophylactics, Bardot offers gourmet ice cream served on a stick, with claims that the bars are layered with different flavors and made by hand every step of the way.

As if to prove its opulence, there are two price points here: A “classic collection” at $5.40 per bar with flavors like a mascarpone and dulce de leche “Ebony and Ivory” and a fresh mint “Deep Thoughts.” The “Bardot collection” offers bars priced at $5.80**, in flavors like a cream cheese and strawberry “New York, NY” and a rapsberry and green tea under the Cafe Gratitude-like title “Inner Peace.” The concept comes from one Xavier Briseño, the founder of Mexico’s Neve Gelato, who actually says, “We don’t sell ice cream bars; we sell love on a stick.” Mmn, is it getting hot in here?

The store will also serve flavors by the scoop in waffle cones or in a dish with a fake silver spoon. Flavors sound pure, tapping tastes like Belgian cacao in a chocolate and vanilla using beans from Veracruz, as well as fruit sorbets and sugar-free flavors. Servers will have iPads to assist you in choosing what you’d like (we really had no clue how to order ice cream without such high-tech gizmos in the past).

The stores themselves, designed by AIA award-winner Ana Henton, will fit into roughly 1,000-square-feet with a display of colorful bars like the ones you see above and a photo booth in the back for customers to take free photos of themselves, then spread the cheer through Facebook and Twitter or whatever has already replaced them as the cool go-to social media platforms that we’re too old to know anything about. The store’s press materials also promise a unique to-go option that keeps bars cold for up to eight hours, which in our day we called an ice-box.

Anyway, get ready for Bardot Bars to open on L.A.’s periphery before slinging its wares closer to home in the years to come.

**Prices were already lowered in the hour after this post published, so we’ve made a correction to reflect the new prices.

Bardot Bars Invading SoCal, Opening First in Arcadia