Apple Valley is about to get its first taste of a nationally beloved ice cream chain. Handel's Homemade Ice Cream is coming to 19201 Bear Valley Road, Suite H, marking the brand's first-ever location in the Victor Valley.
The announcement, shared through an Instagram post from the company, gives Apple Valley residents a look at what's coming but stops short of naming an exact date. As VVNG reports, Handel's told customers to stay tuned for the big opening date, with no specific grand-opening timeline provided in the announcement. The new shop will take over the space formerly occupied by Nubi Yogurt, sitting near the busy, signalized intersection of Bear Valley and Apple Valley roads — a corridor where vehicle traffic exceeds 59,000 daily trips, according to SRS National Net Lease real estate filings.
A High Desert First, Building On Inland Empire Roots
Apple Valley joins a growing list of Southern California communities getting their own Handel's outposts. The chain already has locations in Rancho Cucamonga and Redlands, plus a shop at 1135 Renaissance Parkway in Rialto, according to the VVNG report. Those existing Inland Empire locations are operated by multi-unit franchise owners, per WhatNow, which also notes Handel's opened a shop at Redlands' Mountain Grove Plaza in August 2025 and announced a second Palmdale location this month.
The Apple Valley debut lands in a region with plenty of built-in customer base. The Victorville-Hesperia-Apple Valley urban area has more than 355,000 residents in San Bernardino County. Hoodline previously reported on the chain's expansion just up the road in East Palmdale's second Handel's shop, part of the same High Desert push.
From One Youngstown Parlor To A National Chain
Handel's history stretches back to summer 1945, when Alice Handel started the business in Youngstown, Ohio, and ran a single ice cream parlor for 40 years, per the VVNG report. Handel's Court was later renamed in her honor. Lenny Fisher eventually purchased the brand and oversaw its expansion beyond that original Ohio location, laying the groundwork for the franchise system that exists today.
Handel's now says it follows traditions and methods dating back to Alice Handel's original operation, making ice cream fresh at each store. Each location operates as a registered dairy manufacturing facility, requiring on-premises production rather than shipments from a central plant, according to Nation's Restaurant News. Individual shops select 48 flavors to offer each month from a rotating menu of more than 130 total flavors, including staples like butter pecan, buckeye, chocoholic chunk, chocolate chip cookie dough and cotton candy.
Private Equity Backing Fuels Rapid Growth
The Apple Valley opening comes amid a broader growth spurt for the 81-year-old brand. As of 2026, Handel's operates more than 175 locations across 20 states, with roughly 150 additional parlors in its franchise development pipeline, according to Business Journal Daily. The company generated $176 million in total U.S. sales across 173 units in 2025, posting an average unit volume of $1,115,650, per industry estimates cited by Restaurant Business.
That expansion is backed by private equity firm ClearLight Partners, which acquired majority ownership of Handel's in 2020 and funded its growth from a regional Midwest operation into a national franchise system, according to The Takeout. Former Wetzel's Pretzels chief executive Jennifer Schuler took over as Handel's CEO in March 2024 to lead what corporate management describes as the brand's third era of national franchising, according to Fox Business.
Accolades And An Unresolved Lawsuit
Handel's has leaned heavily on national recognition to draw crowds at new openings, having been named the number one best ice cream in the world by National Geographic, listed among the top 10 ice cream businesses by USA Today, and included in TasteAtlas's 100 Most Iconic Ice Creams in the World, according to a Business Wire release. Those accolades are prominent features of the company's marketing as it enters new markets like Apple Valley.
At the same time, the brand's expansion has not gone entirely unchallenged. A pending class-action lawsuit filed in California in 2025 accuses Handel's of misleading marketing around its homemade claims and alleged use of undisclosed synthetic dyes and preservatives, allegations that remain unproven in court, the same Takeout report notes. The suit directly challenges promotional claims centered on the brand's backyard-style natural recipes, even as Handel's continues to expand into new communities across the state.
