An’s Dry Cleaning, the unusually named gourmet gelato shop chain that opened its first shop in North Park in 2018, was been named the No. 1 Best Ice Cream Shop in America by USA Today on Wednesday.
An’s was the only West Coast shop to make the Top 10 list, which included Coneflower Creamier in Nebraska at No. 2, and Owowcow Creamery in New Jersey and Pennsylvania at No. 3.
This was the second year An’s Dry Cleaning made the list. In 2023, it finished in second place behind Virginia’s Island Creamery, which dropped to No. 7 on this year’s list.
USA Today’s methodology for its 10Best lists is to have experts in each field select 10 finalists. Then it allows the public to vote for their favorites.
With three locations around San Diego County, An’s is known for its small-batch, made-from-scratch gelato in unique, al-natural flavors.
An’s was founded by San Diego entrepreneur Kris Warren, who was looking to start a business with some childhood buddies from Redding when a friend visiting from Spain suggested they consider gelato.
The company’s name was inspired by the shuttered North Park dry cleaning and tailor shop that the gelato shop replaced at 3017 Adams Ave. in June 2018. In keeping with that theme, all of stand-up tables are ironing boards, the decor looks like a 1960s vintage “Martinizing” shop, and the gelatos and sorbettos are all named after fabrics, such as Leather, Velour, Cotton and Canvas.
Its second shop in Del Mar, which opened in 2022, is named An’s Hatmakers, with hat-themed flavors like Fedora and Fascinator, and its third shop at Petco Park is named An’s Athletic Field Services, with flavors like Chalk, Sand and Clay.
A fourth location will open in late summer in Ocean Beach. Its theme has not been announced.
Warren thanked USA Today and An’s staff and customers for helping the company rise to the No. 1 ranking this year.
“We are incredibly honored to be named the best ice cream shop in America,” Warren said, in a statement. “This recognition is truly a reflection of our staff and all of the incredible hard work they’ve put into the An’s experience and of course, we are thrilled to be recognized for the care we take in developing the very best gelato. We are so proud to bring this title to San Diego and we hope to share this win with the community as we were the only shop in the top ten located on the entire West Coast.”
To celebrate and thank customers for their , An’s Dry Cleaning will be offering $1 scoops on July 1 at its North Park and Del Mar locations. The discount will be offered from noon to 7 p.m. that day, or until sold out. For details, visit adcgelato.com.
The USA Today 10Best ice cream rankings are: An’s Dry Cleaning, San Diego; Coneflower Creamery, Nebraska; Owowcow Creamery, New Jersey and Pennsylvania; Leopold’s Ice Cream, Georgia; Peewee’s Ice Cream, New Jersey; The Boardwalk Italian Ice & Creamery, Florida; Island Creamery, Maryland and Virginia; Andia’s Ice Cream, North Carolina; Ellen’s Homemade Ice Cream, West Virginia; and Penn State Berkey Creamery, Pennsylvania.
