Grilled ice cream cones are coming to the Portland area

General manager Caroline Kiesz at the new Crispy Cones outpost, which opens in Vancouver on Friday, March 20.

Are you still eating ice cream out of cones that are made in a waffle iron or an oven? What is this, 2025?

Soon enough, Portland area people won’t need to live in the ice cream past, because Crispy Cones, an ice cream shop known for its cones made out of grilled dough rolled in cinnamon sugar and “specialty powder,” is coming to Vancouver later this month.

A new Crispy Cones outpost is opening in Vancouver on Friday, March 20.

“I happened to catch that episode of ‘Shark Tank,’” said Brian Reynold, owner of the new franchise location, over the phone Wednesday.

A new Crispy Cones outpost is opening in Vancouver on Friday, March 20.

“I filled out the application while I was watching the show,” Reynold said, “because I thought, ‘This is brilliant.’”

Crispy Cones is the latest novelty ice creamery to land in the area. We’ve got boozy ice cream, vegan ice cream, extreme milkshakes, gelato, custard, re-imagined Choctacos.

And, starting Friday, March 20, soft-serve in a grilled cone topped with sauces and all kinds of toppings, at 14003 N.E. 10th Ave.

This location is just part one of Reynold’s grand plan for the Portland area and Crispy Cone. He’s eyeing locations in Ridgefield, Clackamas County and beyond.

Caroline Kiesz will run the Vancouver location and others as general manager.

Kiesz and Reynolds spent two weeks in Idaho learning how to make Crispy Cones’ trademark fluffy, grilled cones.

“We learned everything that’s possibly to know about ice cream, about cone rolling,” Kiesz said.

The dough for the cones is made fresh daily and rolled on dowels in layers before being grilled and then smothered in cinnamon and sugar or other toppings.

“It’s kind of a mixture of a churro-croissant,” Kiesz said.

It’s not fried, she noted, but it is decadent.

Kiesz is looking forward to finally opening, after so much work and anticipation.

“We have a really good team of young adults working with us,” she said. “We’re training everyone tomorrow, and it’s going to be a crazy couple weeks, but we’re excited.”