Paradis Ice Cream Montrose Celebrates 10 Years With A Big Party

THEN: It all started 10 years ago when ice cream pioneers, brother and sister MARK and MIA PEDERSEN, traveled all the way from Denmark to open the very first PARADIS ICE CREAM store in the United States. And where did they pick? The family friendly, quaint town of Montrose, home to hundreds of boutiques and unique small businesses. This photo was taken in the early days.

NOW: Here we are today! What started out as one store is now a successful, growing chain of of 12 franchises with headquarters in San Fernando. Mark and Mia own three of them in Montrose, Monrovia, and Old Pasadena with a staff of over 25!

It's all about the ICE CREAM! Paradis is the #1 ice cream chain in Scandinavia. Throughout the company, only the finest ingredients are used and they are sourced from around the world. Fruit is ripe and fresh, organic cocoa comes from the Dominican Republic, Bourbon Vanilla from Madagascar, and organic almonds from Spain. Fresh local dairies are used and there are vegan options too. The ice creams have a smoother consistency than that of store bought. All delicious!

There are so many ways to have your Paradis Ice cream from a simple scoop in a cup or cone, to sundaes, and a variety of drinks.

The U.S. chapter all started here in the Montrose Shopping Park. This brightly colored storefront brings lots of smiles to folks everyday. Mia shares as she looks back on the last 10 years,

"The best moments are when we have donated ice cream, or sponsored events for families or schools, and then watched it come back to us times 10. The love and support this amazing community has shown us is unbelievable.

I always love when we have interviews to hire new employees and they tell me "I grew up coming here, this store is part of my best memories growing up in Montrose'.

Being from another country and not having any family here, this community really opened their arms to us with a warm feeling of love. We receive many Christmas cards in our store from families in the neighborhood and many holiday invites. It's been so amazing.

Just being able to create a place where families can come together and create their memories and enjoy fun times is so fulfilling to us.

These 10 years have gone by so fast, but we are looking forward to 10 more."

In the meantime, a BIG ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION is planned for THIS SATURDAY, September 28 from noon-3 pm. There's going to be FREE ICE CREAM, a huge custom cake, a D.J., face painting, and more! A Montrose celebration for the whole family! PARADIS ICE CREAM is located at 2323 Honolulu Ave. To learn more about their fabulous ice cream see https://paradis-icecream.com/