Shubert’s marks 67 years of decadence

by Ashley Carter

Chico’s oldest ice cream and candy store, located downtown on Seventh Street, continues to make history with its traditional entrepreneurship this holiday season. Not only do Shubert’s employees make all of its ice cream and candies on premises, they use the finest local ingredients in all their tasty treats.

Ø   Humble beginnings

Ø   Finest ingredients

Ø   Amazing customers

To Chico locals, Shubert’s is more than a fine shop for mouth-watering desserts, it’s a family tradition. In fact, families have been carrying on this heavenly tradition for several generations now.

Humble beginnings

“Shubert’s Ice Cream Shop started when Leonard Shubert, 54, left Montana to find the perfect location in California to start an ice cream shop. His nephew, Charles Pulliam, Sr., joined him three years later and bought the shop from Shubert’s widow in 1951,” according to the Shubert’s Web site.

Shubert’s ice cream and candy store has been creating their scrumptious treats from the same location at 178 E. 7^th St. since 1938. According to a Shubert’s informational pamphlet, everything at Shubert’s is hand made with local, pure ingredients.

“Currently there are three generations of Pulliams making ice cream, rolling out candies and dipping chocolates right on the premises,” said the Web site.

All of the owners still make the ice cream and candies themselves, said Brianna Barton, a Shubert’s employee.

“The other employees help box the treats, serve the ice cream, and help the customers,” she said.

Finest ingredients

The Shubert’s site also informs us that “… the butter, cream, honey, and nuts are delivered weekly from family-owned farms surrounding Chico. The seasonal favorites, such as boysenberry ice cream in the spring, contain locally grown produce to give it that distinctive homemade taste.”

This is the only Shubert’s Ice Cream Shop run by the Shubert family, and the owners agree that things will stay that way for a while. Barton said that Leonard C. Shubert’s grandson will inherit the shop next and has no plans to expand beyond Chico. 

In 1938, when Shubert’s opened, the shop only offered ice cream made from family recipes that used simple ingredients. In 1959 hand made candy was added to the ice cream shop. There is now an assortment of chocolates, creams, chews, chips, mints and nuts to choose from. An informational pamphlet on Shubert’s said that the store has also followed the low-carb trend by offering creations of sugar-free and low-carb candy.

Different things are popular depending on what time of the year it is.

“In the summer the ice cream sells non stop, when holidays such as Christmas and Easter come around our chocolates are purchased by almost every customer,” Barton said.

In the candy department customers may purchase anything by the piece or by the pound, Barton said. Shubert’s also sells novelties that are great to purchase as individual gifts or to be added to any gift basket. The gourmet chocolate wine sauce is one of the most popular items sold around the holidays.

Photo by Jenna Severi Located at 178 E. 7th St. Shubert's has been serving its customers at the same location since 1938.

 Amazing customers

“A lot of our business comes from mostly older customers and families who have been coming here forever. There are also a lot of professors and professionals who come in for our sweets during their breaks,” Barton said.

Another reason why Shubert’s is unique to Chico is because the Sierra Nevada Brewery and Taproom Restaurant chooses to serve only Shubert’s ice cream to its customers. Besides having the best “super creamed ice cream” in town, Sierra Nevada enjoys supporting and staying loyal to the community, Barton said. 

 Another thing that Shubert’s offers is its “Dog Ice Cream” which is intended for any dog’s sweet tooth. Just ask for a doggy scoop and your pup can enjoy the ice cream for free, Barton said.

“All of the ice cream that falls on the floor, chunks that fall into the wrong tubs, or mistakes made while serving customers gets put into a special container that is saved in a special place in the freezer waiting for hungry dogs to come in,” she said.

Shubert’s is a company dedicated to distinctive homemade taste as well as making customers feel as right at home. Some of the ice cream is still made from an original 5-gallon ice cream-making machine, which keeps the products in their freshest state, according to the Shubert’s Web site.

“I love our regular customers. Sometimes you know that you made their day or fulfilled a craving by serving them their favorite scoop of ice cream or most craved treat,” said Barton. “Working at Shubert’s is the best during the summer because I like to see all of the generations of families that sit together and eat our ice cream outside the shop. It makes me feel that the Pulliams did an amazing job sharing their passion for sweets with several generations of families on Chico.”