Smizing for ice cream is the new screaming for ice cream, thanks to a brand new scoop shop opening in Washington, D.C.
Tyra Banks, supermodel and creator of the smize—that is smiling with your eyes—is opening a creative food venture this summer, an ice cream parlor called Smize and Dream. The concept is a play on her original ice cream concept, Smize Cream, which launched in Los Angeles in July 2021 and rebranded as Smize and Dream in 2023, with a short stint in Dubai.
This summer, Banks will open her first scoop shop on the lower level of Petit Monde (2653 Connecticut Avenue NW) in Woodley Park on Friday, July 19. The first 202 guests (get it?) will also be treated to free ice creams on opening day.
The America's Next Top Model host plans to be in attendance at the grand opening and will scoop for fans at surprise visits to her ice cream shop throughout the summer. "I'm serving," she confirms in a silly Instagram reel. Banks also invited fans to help her vote for a new logo, via a book of illustrations she showed off in another reel.
“Ice cream experiences create some of the most nostalgic, warm memories, like the ones I have with my Mama, and knowing we’ll be part of that for so many people visiting our shop this summer makes me smile… and ‘smize’” Banks told Eater D.C.
All 10 Smize and Dream's ice cream flavors will be made in-house and served with a signature smize surprise. That is, at the bottom of every ice cream cup and cone, a special sprinkle-covered treat filled with cookie dough, jelly filling, cake, or cream will await a sugar-loving guest. A special flavor paying tribute to D.C., Cap Hill Crunch, a Cap’n Crunch cereal-infused ice cream, cereal-soaked pieces of French toast, and toffee crunch is also on the menu. New limited edition flavors and smize surprises will drop each week of summer.
Smize and Dream will function as a pop-up through Friday, September 20, and then hit the road for a new ice-cream-loving city.