One Sweet Pop-Up
A sweet ice cream pop-up has arrived at Houston's coolest food court
Life just got a little sweeter for Greenway Plaza office workers. The DoughCone, a food truck that sells soft-serve ice cream, is the newest tenant at the NextSeed Space at The Hub at Greenway Plaza.
The pop-up started Monday, July 8, and will run through August 2. It replaces Tlahuac, a Mexican restaurant that operated in the space from April until June; other restaurants at The Hub include The Rice Box, Greenway Coffee, burger-chan, and Feges BBQ. For DoughCone owner Avi Oberoi, the decision to sign on for a pop-up at Houston's coolest food court made a lot of sense.
“We wanted to see what we could do with more space and a new audience,” Oberoi tells CultureMap. He also offered a more practical reason.
“There’s tons of catering opportunities in that area. It just seemed like a really good business decision.”
Founded by Oberoi in 2016, the DoughCone sells soft-serve vanilla bean ice cream in a doughnut-style, baked pastry cone. The fluffy dough may be lined with fillings like Nutella or cookie butter, and the price includes unlimited toppings, such as fresh strawberries, sprinkles, chocolate chips, and cookie crumbles.
In addition to its standard “signature” cone (pictured above), the DoughCone sells sundaes in two sizes and a decadent banana split. Prices start at $6.99 for a sundae, $8.99 for the signature cone, and $9.99 for a banana split.
Those prices may put the treats in splurge territory for some, but Oberoi notes that he gives his customers a good value. The DoughCone’s ice cream uses high-quality ingredients, including Madagascar vanilla and whole milk, and the various dishes come with unlimited toppings.
Being in a permanent location will allow DoughCone to expand its lineup a bit. Over the course of the pop-up, Oberoi says he’ll introduce a brownie cone — made with Ghiradelli chocolate — as well as a doughnut waffle dipper: essentially, waffle dough on a stick that patrons will dip into ice cream.
Even though it’s only been a couple of days, Oberoi says enough patrons are already interested in his product that he’s had to add staff at the stand.
“People are really curious about our product,” he says. “They’re learning more about what our mission is. Something simple like ice cream can be elevated, and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. It’s fresh strawberries, Nutella, a fresh doughnut cone.”
-----
Hours: Monday - Friday 11:30 am - 3 pm