DENVER— A Colorado ice cream company has expanded into downtown Denver with a new retail and production facility centered on an open-concept "waffle theater," offering customers a view of fresh waffle cone production as part of a broader strategy to combine food manufacturing with an in-store experience.
Sundae, an ice cream business that operates several mountain-town locations, opened the new store in early June in a roughly 5,100-square-foot space in the city's downtown district, according to the company and local reporting. The facility includes a retail ice cream shop, a glass-enclosed commercial kitchen, a waffle cone-making area visible to customers, and a classroom designed for ice cream pint-mixing activities.
Owner Kent Beidel said the company intentionally chose a high-profile downtown location despite the higher operating costs typically associated with retail space.
"We wanted to be right in front of people and hear them say, 'Oh my god, they make the ice cream right here,'" Beidel said, according to local reporting. He described the approach as unconventional because many food producers manufacture products in lower-cost industrial areas before distributing them to retail outlets.
The "waffle theater" allows visitors to watch employees prepare fresh waffle cones throughout the day, while the adjacent kitchen is visible from multiple sides through glass windows. The production space has also been designed with sufficient capacity to supply additional Denver-area locations if the company expands further, according to Beidel.
The opening reflects a growing trend among specialty dessert businesses to emphasize transparency and customer engagement by integrating production into the retail environment. Industry observers say experiential concepts, including open kitchens and live food preparation, have become increasingly common as operators seek to differentiate themselves in competitive urban markets.
Sundae's new location combines ice cream service with educational and interactive elements, including classes where customers can mix and package their own pints. The facility's design also enables visitors to observe portions of the ice cream-making process that are typically hidden in back-of-house production areas.
The downtown Denver store is the company's largest location to date and represents an expansion beyond its established presence in Colorado's mountain communities. Company officials have indicated the commercial kitchen could support future growth in the Denver metropolitan area, although no additional openings have been officially announced.
