Pittsburgh-based Millie's Homemade is scooping its way into North Carolina for the first time, with plans to open a shop in downtown Raleigh near Moore Square. The company announced the news on Nov. 2, confirming that the Raleigh location will mark its debut in the Tar Heel State.
According to the Raleigh News & Observer, the site is planned for 325 Blake St. near Moore Square in downtown Raleigh's City Market, with the newspaper attributing that specific address to reporting from Triangle Business Journal. As of the News & Observer's Nov. 5 report, Millie's had not announced an exact opening date. A spokesperson told WPXI the shop plans to open by the end of the year, though that remains a stated plan rather than a confirmed date.
From Pittsburgh Scoop Shop to Six-State Footprint
Millie's Homemade launched in 2014, co-founded by Chad and Lauren Townsend, and has since grown well beyond its Pittsburgh roots. The company already operates locations in Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, Maryland and Texas, plus a mobile truck in Tennessee, per the News & Observer's reporting. Millie's packages its ice cream at Millie's Ice Cream Works and sells pints in nearby grocery stores, the paper notes.
The brand describes its approach as scratch-made ice cream built from real ingredients sourced from farmers and artisans. Its menu spans classic, seasonal and signature creations, with year-round staples including Best Chocolate, Chad's Vanilla, Backyard S'mores, Dulce De Leche and Shirley Temple, alongside seasonal options like Caramel Apple Dumpling, Pumpkin Pie and Blue Raspberry Chip.
Raleigh Is One Stop on a Bigger 2026 Expansion
Raleigh's new shop is part of a broader growth push for the brand this year. QSR Magazine reported that Millie's is expanding into six new markets in 2026, including Raleigh, Washington, D.C., Buffalo, Nashville, Lubbock and Austin, calling it a banner year for the company. Franchising has helped fuel that growth since it began in 2021, according to QSR Magazine, building on a company that Millie's Homemade says has evolved from scoop shops into a food truck operation, franchising and grocery-store pints.
That rapid expansion hasn't always gone smoothly. A September report from The MoCo Show detailed how Millie's delayed the planned Sept. 10 opening of its first Maryland location in Gaithersburg, with the shop still hoping to open within the week as of Sept. 9 without a new date announced. That same outlet noted the chain had grown to 16 brick-and-mortar locations across the Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Lubbock and Buffalo areas, including university locations. It's a far cry from 2015, when Pittsburgh City Paper reported Millie's was simply planning a Highland Park storefront for the following year.
Another New Flavor for Raleigh's Changing Food Scene
Millie's arrival adds to a wave of recent openings around downtown Raleigh's Moore Square area. In July, Kokoro Ramen & Izakaya opened at 200 E. Martin St., taking over the former Royale space off the square, while Wolfside Urban Market is set to open at 149 E. Davie St. at Blount Street, in the former DGX convenience and grocery store space.
The News & Observer said it reached out to Millie's Homemade for more information and plans to update its story once it receives a response. Until then, downtown Raleigh residents eyeing a cone of Backyard S'mores or Dulce De Leche will have to keep watching for word on an exact opening day.
