A Frisbee Dog, a College Street Start and a Wall of ‘Best Of’ Plaques: The Story Behind Ashley’s Ice Cream on York Street

Ask anyone who grew up in New Haven, or went to school here, where to get ice cream downtown and one name comes up fast: Ashley’s. The shop at 280 York St., a few steps from Broadway, is still scooping seven days a week. Its Google listing shows noon to 10 p.m. every day this week.

Here is what fewer people know. The shop is named for a dog. It started on College Street, not York Street. It left York Street for three years and then came back. And all those frisbees on the walls are part of the story. Here is the history behind Ashley’s, what customers say about it and what to order when you go.

Named for a frisbee-catching dog

Ashley’s Ice Cream was founded in 1979. The company explains the name on its own “Our Story” page: “Being avid frisbee players, we became enamored with Ashley Whippet- the famous frisbee catching dog. So our name was born.” The shop says it has been decorating its walls with frisbees ever since, and that it now has “hundreds” of them.

Ashley Whippet, the famous frisbee-catching dog that Ashley’s Ice Cream is named for, lying on a dark background

Ashley Whippet was a real celebrity. According to the shop’s history, his owner, Alex Stein, led him onto the field at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles without permission, threw a frisbee and watched the dog catch it six feet in the air in front of thousands of fans. After that came TV talk shows, a visit to the White House and a tournament named in his honor, the Ashley Whippet Invitational. The dog died in 1985. Before that, the shop says, he visited the New Haven store, and “his favorite flavor was chocolate banana!”

College Street first, then York Street (twice)

The first Ashley’s opened on College Street in 1979, “just steps away from the dormitories of Yale University,” the company says. One of its old signs, shown on the company website, still carries that first address: 196 College St.

A vintage Ashley’s Ice Cream sign with red script lettering and a checkered border reading 196 College St., New Haven, Ct.

The crowds and the awards came quickly, and a second shop opened on the other side of campus on York Street. Then came a gap that longtime customers may remember. The York Street shop closed in the spring of 1999 and the space became Whimsels, a crêpe shop, the Yale Daily News reported in September 2002. That fall Ashley’s returned to 280 York St., moving back into the old Whimsels space.

“New Haven is where our roots are,” owner Joe Ametrano said in a press release at the time, as quoted by the Daily News. “Yale University has been tremendously helpful in facilitating my return and I look forward to serving the Yale community as well as all the others who know us or will discover us.”

The reopening menu described in that 2002 story will sound familiar to regulars today: all homemade ice cream, coffee specialties such as coffee Oreo, and seasonal flavors like pumpkin that come and go.

A blue Yale banner hangs above checkered Ashley’s Ice Cream tubs and the shop’s counter, in a photo from the New Haven page of the company’s website

The company’s history also drops a few famous names. It says it has served “several past Presidents” and actors including Paul Giamatti, James Franco, Jordana Brewster and David Duchovny. Hamden got its own Ashley’s in 1983, and shops in Guilford, Branford and Madison followed, for five in all. York Street is the New Haven shop.

Who runs it now

Ashley’s co-owners are Joe Ametrano and Brian Anderson, according to the company’s Meet the Team page, which shows the two of them outside a shop holding a framed certificate. Mike manages the New Haven store, the site says. Taylor runs Hamden, Karen runs Branford, Inez runs Madison and Kait runs Guilford.

Ashley’s Ice Cream co-owners Joe Ametrano, left, and Brian Anderson stand outside a shop window holding a framed certificate

The company says its crew is made up of “expert ice cream makers, friendly servers, and dedicated managers.” It also says it gives away “hundreds of gallons of ice cream every year” to help local groups raise money, has hosted food and toy drives in its stores, and uses only fully biodegradable cups and napkins.

Members of the Ashley’s Ice Cream team in black shirts pose inside the shop with a framed award

A wall of ‘Best of New Haven’ plaques

The awards are hard to miss. Ashley’s says it has won the New Haven Advocate’s Best of New Haven readers’ poll “every year since polling started in 1985.” A long row of those plaques hangs on the wall, ending with CTNOW “Best of New Haven” plaques for 2015 through 2019. Connecticut Magazine and the Shoreline Times have honored the shop as well, it says.

Two rows of Best of New Haven readers’ poll plaques on a wall, ending with CTNOW plaques for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019

Another wall mixes frisbees with framed photos, including portraits of people wearing ice cream cones like hats, with captions such as “I am Chocolate Swiss Almond.”

A wall of framed photos and frisbees, including portraits of people wearing ice cream cones on their heads, inside an Ashley’s Ice Cream shop

How it’s made

Ashley’s says it has never used artificial colors or flavors. According to the company, the whipped cream is whipped fresh in the store every day, the waffle cones are baked fresh, and the hot fudge is its own “famous Bittersweet” recipe, made with high-quality chocolates. The company also says its strawberry ice cream gets its pink color only from the juice of fresh strawberries.

A heaping tray of fresh whipped cream at the Ashley’s Ice Cream counter, with checkered cups behind it

The full flavor list on the company website runs from Sweet Cream and Butter Crunch to Essex Mud, Havana Banana and Vanilla Malt Whopper. It also includes sorbets, liquor flavors like Bourbon Brown Sugar and Kahlua Chip, and low-fat frozen yogurts. Not every flavor is in the case every day, so look before you order.

What customers say

Ashley’s has a 4.6-star rating on Google from 466 reviews.

“Love it. Can’t beat their creamy, homemade ice cream,” Jennifer wrote in a four-star review about 11 months ago. “We love strawberry, sweet cream, Oreo coffee, and any seasonal flavors.” She took off one star because her custom ice cream cake came with one flavor instead of two and no Oreo crust. Even so, she wrote, “That said, the ice cream cake was delicious!”

“The ice cream was excellent!” David wrote. “The strawberry ice cream was amazing (had fresh chunks of strawberry) the coffee ice cream was also very good.” He added, “We ordered the small scoop which was perfect size for us.”

Sebastian, writing about three months ago, said, “I loved the Nutella chip, the chocolate chip, and the chocolate chocolate chip.” Shruti was impressed by the range. “So many ice cream flavors,” she wrote, picking coconut and mango as the best. “They have lot of non-dairy and sugar free options.”

Not every visit goes well. In a one-star review about five months ago, Natalie said two people working the counter were rude to her family and called the ice cream “mid, not great.” She also wrote that “the girl at the cash register was sweet.”

What to order

Flavors rotate, so check the case when you get there. Here is where to start, with the shop’s own photos.

Oreo, or Coffee With Oreo. Ashley’s calls Coffee With Oreo “the favorite of many,” made with brewed coffee, cream “and the perfect amount of Oreos.” Plain Oreo is on the everyday list too, and Shruti ordered it.

A tub of Ashley’s Oreo ice cream, white and packed with dark cookie pieces

A fresh waffle cone. The cones are baked in the store, so pick any scoop and put it in one of these.

Fresh waffle cones wrapped in paper at Ashley’s Ice Cream

A sundae with bittersweet hot fudge. The house fudge is the shop’s point of pride. Add the fresh whipped cream and something from the toppings bar.

A giant Ashley’s sundae piled with whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles and chocolate sauce, with red spoons in checkered tubs

A bin of rainbow sprinkles with a red scoop at the Ashley’s Ice Cream toppings bar

A Halloween ice cream cake. Every custom cake has an Oreo cookie crust and two flavors of ice cream or frozen yogurt, with candy, nuts, cookies or the bittersweet hot fudge between the layers. Sizes go from a small cake that serves 6 to 8 up to a sheet cake for 40 or more. The shop’s own photo shows a “Have a Spooky Halloween” cake.

An Ashley’s ice cream cake decorated with a spider web and purple trim reading Have a Spooky Halloween, in front of checkered Ashley’s cake boxes

An ice cream pie. These come in a chocolate or graham cracker shell, filled with ice cream and topped with fudge, cookies and whipped cream. Each one serves about 10. Pie flavors include Cookie Batter, Black Raspberry With Oreo, Mudslide and Lemon Pie.

Ashley’s ice cream pies with pink whipped cream borders and crushed cookie centers

Peppermint Stick, when it’s back. It’s on the seasonal list with Egg Nog and Cranberry Gingersnap. The fall seasonals on that list include Pumpkin, Pumpkin Gingersnap, Pumpkin Latte, Pumpkin Oreo and Caramel Apple Crumb. Call ahead to find out which ones are in the case.