A new Cold Stone Creamery is under construction in Plymouth, Michigan, with an opening targeted for this fall, though the company has not released an exact address or opening date. The Plymouth shop is the first concrete sign of a broader push to add eight to 12 new Cold Stone locations across Michigan over the next four years.
The Plymouth build was announced alongside news that the ice cream chain has awarded another Michigan location to a franchisee, though that site remains undisclosed and is still in the early stages of development, according to MLive. Cold Stone currently operates 27 locations across Michigan and is focusing its growth on the Metro Detroit area, per the outlet's reporting. Brand leader Blake Borwick said Michigan is “an exciting market” for the company, “particularly as the Detroit metro area experiences renewed economic growth and investment.”
Cold Stone believes some customers are already traveling significant distances to reach existing locations, and the company sees an opportunity to bring stores closer to communities, the same report notes. Plymouth fits that logic: the combined city and township area has more than 37,000 residents and median household incomes exceeding $100,000, according to the Plymouth Community Chamber of Commerce. That kind of suburban purchasing power, in a corridor between Detroit and Ann Arbor, is the type of demographic profile franchise site-selectors chase.
Who's Bankrolling the Buildout
The Michigan expansion is being backed in part by franchisee Kyle Welch, whose ownership group already runs four Michigan stores and is supporting the statewide push. Welch co-founded Chicago Scoops LLC, which grew into Cold Stone's largest domestic franchisee, with more than 40 locations spread across over 10 states, according to the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. Welch is an MSU School of Hospitality Business graduate, giving the Michigan rollout a local alumni connection to go with its operational muscle.
Cold Stone is casting a wide net for who fills the remaining Michigan slots, saying it wants both first-time franchisees and experienced multi-unit operators, per MLive's reporting. The financial bar is steep either way. FDD data reported by FranChat shows the company charges a $27,000 initial franchise fee for a traditional location, while total startup costs — covering leasehold improvements, the chain's signature granite stone equipment, signage and inventory — run between $335,675 and $680,775, according to figures published by FranChat and Vetted Biz.
What the Numbers Look Like Once the Doors Open
Those upfront costs are weighed against real but uneven returns. The 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document shows that 978 U.S. franchised stores open for the full 2025 fiscal year averaged $604,392 in gross sales, with a median unit volume of $573,674, per FranChat's review of the filing. The spread is wide: the top 20% of locations averaged $964,900 in gross sales, while the bottom 20% averaged just $332,501.
The timing lines up with broader momentum for the brand. Cold Stone was named to Yelp's 2026 Fastest-Growing Restaurant Brands list, the company announced as part of the same statewide push, according to PR Newswire. It's also arriving alongside healthy industry-wide tailwinds — the U.S. ice cream shop industry hit $7.4 billion in total revenue in 2025, growing at an annualized 5.8% over the prior five years, per IBISWorld. A separate analysis from Grand View Research projects the broader U.S. ice cream market growing from $21.64 billion in 2025 to $30 billion by 2033.
A Familiar Playbook From a Global Parent
Cold Stone, known for mixing customers' candy, fruit and other toppings into ice cream on a frozen granite stone made in-store, operates nearly 1,500 locations in about 30 countries and is based in Scottsdale, Arizona. It's owned by Kahala Brands, which itself operates or affiliates with nearly 30 fast-casual and quick-service restaurant brands across roughly 3,000 locations in 35 countries. Kahala was acquired by Montreal-based MTY Food Group in a merger valued at about $300 million, as reported by PE Hub back in 2016.
Michigan isn't the only market getting this treatment. Cold Stone ran a similar franchisee-recruitment campaign in South Louisiana and New Orleans earlier this year, targeting two to three new locations, as Hoodline previously reported. The pattern suggests Kahala is using localized press pushes to recruit operators in mid-sized metro markets nationwide, rather than treating Michigan as a one-off. Franchise growth hasn't been without stumbles elsewhere in the system — a West Los Angeles Cold Stone was temporarily shut down by county health officials in March over health code violations — a reminder that inspection compliance remains an ongoing operational challenge across the chain's storefronts.
