In the mood for a sweet treat? Check out Zala’s rolled ice cream.

Zala’s is a rolled ice cream shop located at 42 S. Eighth St. that first opened June 18, as was chronicled in Lebanon Daily News (paywall).

The shop is at a prime location and impossible to miss with its colorful entrance. If the parking in front is full, the location is right by Lebanon’s 2 Hour Free Parking lot.

The colorful entrance to Zala’s. The shop’s colorful exterior matches the interior design of a variety of bright colors.

As soon as you enter the shop, you’ll see the workstation including ice pans and the register. While you wait to order, you can check out the other sweet treats being hand-made in front of you.

While customers prepare to order with owner Lee Kilgore, employees Jackie Cruz and Jesus Quiñonez work on preparing stir-fried ice cream, another name for rolled ice cream.

So what is rolled ice cream? It is a dessert made from a milk base and a variety of other potential ingredients using an ice pan cooled to around -20 degrees. It only became popular in the United States a few years ago, so many Americans not living in urban areas haven’t tried (or even heard of) it.

Stirring the milk and cream base, Zala’s employee Jackie Cruz prepares to make rolled ice cream for a customer. While the store started as a family business, high demand has allowed owners Lee Kilgore and Angel Merced to hire additional employees.

Rolled ice cream incorporates various flavors and consistencies into the ice cream itself, rather than simply using these as toppings. At Zala’s, original recipes for ice cream like Nutella, Cheesecake, S’Mores, and Cookie Monster crush up topping ingredients to add to the ice cream mix.

According to owner Lee Kilgore, Zala’s has around 90 flavors in total, and plans to rotate flavors every three to four months.

Mixing Oreo crumbles with the ice cream mix, Zala’s employee Jesus Quiñonez prepares an Oreo ice cream on the cold pan.
Working the ice cream mix, Zala’s employee Jackie Cruz prepares a Cookie Monster ice cream, which contains pieces of cookie dough in the ice cream.

After the ice cream is rolled, decorative (and tasty) toppings are added before the dessert is placed in the freezer for a few minutes.

Various toppings on the Zala’s counter.
An Oreo rolled ice cream, decorated with chocolate syrup and an Oreo.
A Cookie Monster rolled ice cream, topped with a whole cookie.

While the rolled ice cream is appealing at $4.50 per cup, Zala’s also offers frappes for $5.00 or $8.00 depending on size.

Putting the finishing touches on two frappes, Zala’s owner Lee Kilgore adds powder on top of the frappes’ whipped cream.
An Oreo frappe, topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, Oreo pieces, and a waffle decoration. Frappes at Zala’s use mostly natural ingredients before toppings are added.

It also offers creamy limbers, a frozen Puerto Rican dessert, from $1.00 to $1.50.

The Zala’s freezer, containing various flavors of Limbers. Since the Limbers are pre-made and frozen, they offer a quick alternative for someone looking to skip the wait time of rolled ice cream.

During our visit to Zala’s, we ordered a Cookie Monster ice cream and an Oreo frappe. And yes, they tasted as amazing as they looked.

A Cookie Monster ice cream and Oreo Frappe sit next to the multicolored walls at Zala’s.

Find more information about Zala’s on Facebook.

Emily Bixler was born and raised in Lebanon and now reports on local government. In her free time, she enjoys playing piano and going for hikes.

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  1. It does look delicious and I am planning on trying to get there on my next trip into the market if not before!!! Gonna kill two birds with one stone as they say!! Good luck on your new home in the city!!!