The Coolhaus Origin Story: $2,900, A Food Truck, and a Dream

This week, Yahoo Food is celebrating America’s favorite dessert with a series of profiles, recipes and photo galleries all dedicated to the creamy, delicious dessert. Check out ourIce Cream page for complete coverage!

For most ice cream brands, the inspiration is something sweet. For Coolhaus, it was architecture. So the founders, Natasha Case and Freya Estreller, “built” ice cream sandwiches in homage to the greats. A scoop of Tahitian vanilla bean between two chocolate chip cookies became the Mies Vanilla Rohe, while baked apple ice cream between raisin oatmeal cookies became the Renzo Apple Pie-Ano.

Case, who studied architecture and design and had worked at Disney Imagineering (the group that works on the Disney attractions and experiences, from the theme parks to the cruise ships), started making these treats for kicks. She met Estreller, who had a background in real estate and who would eventually become her wife, and the two thought the hobby could become a business. “We had different skill sets and we were 25, so we had nothing to lose,” remembered Case.

They started the business as a food truck because that was all they could afford.

“It was the only way to put our idea out there,” she said. They found an old postal truck on Craigslist for $2,900 and had it towed to Los Angeles, where they were based. Their first gig would be the Coachella music festival, so they borrowed $700 from Estreller’s mom, $700 from a friend, and used a credit card with a $5,000 limit to finance everything they needed.

Coolhaus founders Natasha Case, left, and Freya Estreller. Photo: Courtesy Coolhaus

As scrappy as that seems, they were thinking big from the start.

“We realized we could not make the ice cream in the ice cream maker at home and bake the cookies for an event like Coachella ourselves, so we found manufacturing partners right away,” Case said. “A huge reason why we’ve been able to grow so smoothly and so quickly is having other people whose expertise is all manufacturing.”

Today, there are 10 food trucks and the brand has expanded into multiple directions. The iconic silver trucks can be found in three cities: Los Angeles, New York, and Dallas (which is part of a licensing agreement with the team who runs Nammi, the Vietnamese food truck, in that city). Coolhaus has a wholesale division and sells its pre-made ice cream sandwiches, pre-packed pints, and hand-dipped ice cream bars through outlets such as Whole Foods and Fresh Direct. There’s an e-commerce shop on the Coolhaus website where fans can buy everything from hoodies to membership in the pint of the month club. And now there are two scoop shops, or sammie shops, as they like to call them, one in Culver City, Calif., the other in Pasadena, where the whole world of Coolhaus comes alive.

Estreller has moved onto a new project—she founded Ludlows Cocktail Co.—and Case is now chief executive officer. Despite the growth and the changes, it still comes down to some fundamental items for Case—quality products made from scratch and integrity in sourcing and manufacturing. “That’s not even a discussion,” she said. “That’s how I eat and that’s the product I want to make for people.”

Case gave us the scoop on some new items in the works. In the ice cream sandwich category, there’s a snickerdoodle cookie and strawberry ice cream combo, then a double chocolate cookies and cream offering. Two pints debuting soon are Salty S'mores, a mix of salted Tahitian vanilla bean, speculoos graham crackers, marshmallow swirl, and chocolate squares. Then, what Case is calling a play on an adult sundae: Tahitian vanilla bean, chocolate-hazelnut swirl, and coconut candy crusted almonds.

“It’s addictive,” she said.

Clearly, this architect of delights is not sick of ice cream just yet. “Never,” she said. “Not going to happen.”

Can’t get enough of ice cream and cookies? Here are some recipes to inspire you:

Make Your Own Speculoos Cookie Butter

Cookie Dough That’s Meant to be Eaten Without Baking

Make Two-Ingredient Nutella Banana Ice Cream

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