FoMu Alternative Ice Cream to Open in the South End
UPDATE, May 27: FoMu is officially open on Tremont Street. It’s open daily from 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
PREVIOUSLY:
Come summertime, the South End will have a new option for hard-style ice cream—and a vegan one, at that. FoMu Alternative Ice Cream + Café introduced itself on Tremont Street this week; the third location of the local chain is eyeing a May 2016 debut, co-owner Deena Jalal says.
The space was previously a local art gallery, and Jalal retained the hardwood floors, white-painted brick, and exposed beams on the high ceilings. The café features a reclaimed wood community table, a kids’ nook with a table and toys to share, and a standing area with a marble countertop. The space will pay homage to its roots with a seasonally-changing gallery wall curated by local artist Elana Mokady.
FoMu’s first store opened in Allston in 2012, and the brand expanded to Jamaica Plain the following year. The company has been producing its plant-based ice cream alternative at a Watertown commissary since 2011. Outside its cafés, FoMu’s not-ice cream is available at most regional Whole Foods, and select specialty stores in New England.
FoMu’s frozen confections are made with either a coconut base or almond and cashew blend, depending on the flavor. The scratch-made flavors include signatures like malted chocolate chip cookie dough, avocado, and salted caramel; and rotating options like peanut butter mud pie, blueberry shortbread, and chocolate peppermint cookie. They are sweetened with mainly unrefined cane sugar and agave nectar, and are entirely lactose-free.
All of FoMu’s shops and its production facility are certified kosher, and many menu items, including its baked goods, are gluten-free, soy-free, and organic. It also serves smoothies, frappes, George Howell Coffee Roasters espresso drinks, and Mem Teas.
Jalal and her husband, Hin Tang, also opened the vegan diner Root in 2013, next door to the original FoMu on Harvard Avenue. After a year, Jalal and Tang sold Root to a Chicago-based company that eventually closed the shop, making way for Whole Heart Provisions to open in that space last year.
“We really enjoy being in front of customers and letting people come in and fall in love with what ice cream can be,” Jalal says. “Opening more locations in the greater Boston area is the focus for the time being.”
FoMu Premium Alternative Ice Cream and Cafe, opening spring 2016 at 655 Tremont St., Boston; fomuicecream.com.
