Long Island gets a new Häagen-Dazs shop, in Oceanside

Growing up, brother and sister Lav and Trusha Patel visited ice cream parlor after ice cream parlor in search of a standout.

"We all love ice cream," said Lav, 30, who grew up in the Hicksville area. "It’s been a core family thing ever since we were little, we would always go out and eat ice cream."

Häagen-Dazs was the clear winner, Lav said, and he can prove it: Recently, he became a co-owner, with his sister Trusha, 33, and brother-in-law Dipen Shah, 35, of a Häagen-Dazs they opened in Oceanside's Sands Shopping Center on Long Beach Road.

The shop, measuring roughly 1,400 square feet, soft-opened on July 17, Lav Patel said. The owners will host a grand opening celebration on Saturday with a 10 a.m. ribbon-cutting and free ice cream scoops for the first 500 visitors starting at 11 a.m.

Patel said he and his partners chose the Oceanside location to fill a community need for "a quality ice cream shop,"and to take advantage of the shopping center's visibility.

"We've already had customers who've become regulars," he said. "I know customers on a personal basis now; when they walk in I know their names, know their orders."

The store has about five employees, Lav said. Other Häagen-Dazs stores on Long Island, under various owners, include Roosevelt Field and Smith Haven malls, Huntington Station, Great Neck, Farmingdale, Deer Park, Bay Shore and Hicksville, according to the Häagen-Dazs store locator webpage.  

Häagen-Dazs is operated by Froneri, a company that acquired Nestlé USA's ice cream business in 2020, according to its website. In addition to Häagen-Dazs, Froneri's ice cream brands include Oreo, Lotus Biscoff, Drumstick & Extreme, Cadbury & Milka, and Outshine & Rowntree's.

Outside North America, Häagen-Dazs is operated by General Mills. In its 2026 annual report, released earlier this month, General Mills reported it operates 232 leased ice cream parlors outside the U.S. and Canada, and franchises 376 of the same. 

Häagen-Dazs did not immediately respond to request for comment. 

"We’re a locally owned franchise and can’t wait to become part of the community," Trusha wrote in a July 22 Facebook post. "We’ll be serving your favorite Häagen-Dazs ice cream, hand-packed pints, sundaes, shakes, smoothies, and our signature ice cream cakes for birthdays and special occasions."

By Arielle Dollinger

arielle.dollinger@newsday.com@aridollinger

Arielle Dollinger joined Newsday as a staff reporter in 2022. Previously, she covered local and national news as a freelancer for The New York Times, Newsday and other outlets.