Carvel Celebrates 90th Birthday With New Menu Items

On Memorial Day Weekend of 1934, ice cream truck operator Tom Carvel’s vehicle broke down, and a shop across the street lent him the electricity and space to sell his custard so it didn’t go bad. Without that flat tire, the world might never know the business that resulted from it: The Carvel chain of brick-and-mortar soft serve shops that now numbers in the hundreds nationwide. And now, Carvel is celebrating its 90th birthday this month, and it’s kicking off a summer full of promotions to celebrate. 

Starting May 20, Carvel is introducing a new limited-time-only Birthday Cake flavor. It will come in several formats: soft serve; scooped ice cream with the brand’s new Birthday Cake Crunchies; a shake blended with the new Crunchies; a Sundae Dasher layered with soft serve, Birthday Cake Crunchies, and a rainbow sprinkle whipped topping; a Flying Saucer (aka ice cream sandwich) rolled in Crunchies; an ice cream pop dipped in Birthday Bonnet coating; and a Birthday Cake Carvelanche featuring soft serve mixed with Birthday Cake Crunchies. The Carvelanche is an online exclusive, meaning it can only be ordered through Carvel’s website or via participating third-party delivery services including DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub.

Then, throughout Memorial Day Weekend, on May 24–27, Carvel will be serving all 16-ounce shakes and Dashers in a free “limited-edition, celebratory birthday cup.” You don’t have to opt for the Birthday Cake flavor if you want the 90th Birthday cup — you’ll just have to order in-store and show up early before the cups run out. It’s a pretty cute design, featuring Fudgie the Whale, Cookie Puss, and other anthropomorphic Carvel frozen treats with smiling faces. 

Speaking of Carvel’s menu full of iconic characters, the brand’s 90th birthday has spurred the production of some seriously well-designed merch. “This limited-time collection features original designs that capture the quirky essence that Carvel fans have come to know and love over the last 90 summers,” the press release notes. Fans will appreciate the Fudgie the Whale tank top, Cookie Puss baseball tee, Flying Saucer crew neck sweatshirt, and tote bag celebrating Carvel’s famous Chocolate Crunchies. True hypebeasts can sign up to join the Fudgie Fanatics, the chain’s loyalty program that alerts members to early merch drops and various offers. 

Basically, there’s hardly a moment this summer that Carvel doesn’t want you to be thinking, “Hmm, I could really go for some Carvel right now.” To that end, the chain will also be launching #FudgieGoodFridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day — a weekly opportunity to win prizes and giveaways on the company’s official Instagram. There will be a total of 90 prizes awarded because, again, Carvel is celebrating 90 years. Has any nonagenarian ever made this big of a deal out of their birthday before?