Fifty Licks

Fifty Licks is an independent ice cream parlor brand based in Portland, Oregon. It was started by Chad Draizin in 2009 as a seasonal ice cream truck, following his brewing studies and an internship at Portland Brewing. Draizin concluded that industrial-scale beer production was not his preferred career and instead developed a business centered on small-batch frozen desserts. The truck gained early local attention and was named one of Portland’s best new food carts by The Oregonian in 2011. The brand takes its name from an estimate of how many licks are needed to finish a scoop of ice cream. Its identity is built around unusual but approachable flavor combinations, made-in-house ice cream bases, and a relaxed, straightforward store environment. Rather than focusing only on conventional flavors, Fifty Licks has promoted options such as Chocolate as #$%&, while also maintaining familiar and seasonal choices. The company generally offers about eleven ice cream flavors each day, along with two soft-serve flavors and ice cream cocktails. Fifty Licks moved from a mobile operation to permanent retail locations in 2013, when Draizin opened the first parlor in Portland’s Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood. The opening broadened the brand’s reach and helped establish it as a destination for specialty ice cream. Eater later included Fifty Licks on a national ice cream heatmap, recognizing it among notable newer ice cream businesses in the United States. A second location opened on East Burnside Street in the Buckman neighborhood in 2017, a development associated with increased visibility and popularity. A third shop followed in 2020 in the Slabtown district of Portland’s Northwest District. The brand has also operated a summer food cart and served as a vendor at the Moda Center. Dietary inclusivity is an important part of the concept. Fifty Licks offers non-dairy and vegan flavors and has expressed an ambition for dairy-free products to eventually represent half of its range. This emphasis supports the company’s broader positioning as an experimental yet accessible dessert business rather than a conventional parlor limited to dairy-based ice cream. Its products have been described by food writers as combining simple, elegant flavors with unpretentious spaces. The brand has also appeared in popular culture and local civic life. Fifty Licks was featured in the Hulu television series Shrill. During the 2018 Occupy ICE protests, its food truck distributed free ice cream to demonstrators. Following the 2020 George Floyd protests, one Portland shop was briefly targeted by a rioter who removed a Black Lives Matter poster from the window. These incidents form part of the publicly documented story of a locally rooted business operating within Portland’s food, cultural, and political environment. Fifty Licks has received repeated recognition in Willamette Week’s Best of Portland readers’ poll. It placed third in the Best Ice Cream category in 2017, 2018, and 2020, second in 2022 and 2025, and first in 2024. The business remains an active Portland-area ice cream brand with several neighborhood locations, a mobile presence, and a product strategy centered on creative flavors and expanding dairy-free availability.

Fifty Licks began in Portland, Oregon, in 2009 as a seasonal ice cream truck founded and operated by Chad Draizin. Before entering the frozen-dessert business, Draizin had graduated from NSU University School, studied beer brewing at the University of Florida, and completed an internship at Portland Brewing. His experience led him to decide that brewing beer at industrial scale was not the direction he wanted to pursue. He instead developed a mobile ice cream concept focused on original flavors and direct customer interaction. The truck quickly became part of Portland’s expanding food-cart culture. In 2011, The Oregonian named it one of the city’s best new food carts. The name Fifty Licks refers to an estimate of the number of licks required to eat a scoop of ice cream, giving the business a playful identity while keeping the product itself at the center of the concept. In 2013, Fifty Licks opened its first permanent shop in Portland’s Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood. This transition from a summer-only mobile operation to a brick-and-mortar parlor allowed the brand to serve customers more consistently and establish a recognizable neighborhood presence. Around this period, Eater included Fifty Licks on a national ice cream heatmap as one of the noteworthy ice cream businesses that had recently opened in the United States. The company expanded again in 2017 with a second location on East Burnside Street in the Buckman neighborhood. The new shop increased the brand’s visibility and popularity in Portland. Fifty Licks typically serves approximately eleven flavors daily, supplemented by two soft-serve flavors and ice cream cocktails. Its range is distinguished by nontraditional flavor development, including highly personalized or provocative names, while still retaining a focus on balanced and accessible flavor construction. The business makes its ice cream bases in-house. Fifty Licks has placed particular emphasis on non-dairy and vegan products. The company has offered dairy-free choices and has stated an aspiration to make approximately half of its eventual product selection dairy-free. This strategy reflects both the brand’s experimentation and the changing dietary expectations of urban dessert consumers. A third permanent location opened in 2020 in Slabtown, part of Portland’s Northwest District. In addition to its neighborhood parlors and seasonal food truck, Fifty Licks has operated as a vendor at the Moda Center. Its profile also expanded through a feature in the Hulu television series Shrill. Food writers have characterized the business as popular for simple, elegant flavors served in direct, informal spaces. The brand has participated in Portland’s civic and political environment. During the 2018 Occupy ICE protests, its food truck handed out free ice cream to protesters. In 2020, after the George Floyd protests, one shop was briefly targeted by a rioter who tore down a Black Lives Matter poster from the storefront window. Neither event is documented as a formal corporate scandal; both illustrate the public-facing role of a locally recognizable business. Fifty Licks has received sustained local recognition. It ranked third in Willamette Week’s Best of Portland readers’ Best Ice Cream poll in 2017, 2018, and 2020; second in 2022 and 2025; and first in 2024. The business remains an active Portland-area ice cream retailer centered on inventive flavors, house-made production, vegan and dairy-free development, and neighborhood-scale expansion.

• 2024

  Best of Portland ice cream winner

  [1]Fifty Licksen.wikipedia.org

  Fifty Licks wins the Best Ice Cream category in Willamette Week’s readers’ poll.

• 2020

  Slabtown location opens

  [1]Fifty Licksen.wikipedia.org

  The third shop opens in Portland’s Slabtown district.

• 2017

  Buckman location opens

  [1]Fifty Licksen.wikipedia.org

  The second location opens on East Burnside Street in Portland’s Buckman neighborhood.

• 2013

  First brick-and-mortar parlor opens

  [1]Fifty Licksen.wikipedia.org

  The first permanent shop opens in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood.

• 2011

  Early food-cart recognition

  [1]Fifty Licksen.wikipedia.org

  The Oregonian names the Fifty Licks truck one of Portland’s best new food carts.

• 2009

  Fifty Licks launches as a seasonal ice cream truck

  [1]Fifty Licksen.wikipedia.org

  Chad Draizin begins Fifty Licks as a summer-operated mobile ice cream business in Portland.

A Portland independent ice cream brand combining unconventional flavors, house-made bases, inclusive dairy-free offerings, and casual neighborhood hospitality.

• Ice cream · 2009

  Creative ice cream flavors

  Fifty Licks’ core range consists of rotating small-batch ice cream flavors, including conventional selections and more experimental combinations. The company is known for developing distinctive flavor profiles and making its ice cream base in-house. Daily service generally includes approximately eleven flavors, allowing the menu to change while retaining a recognizable focus on originality and craftsmanship.

• Ice cream flavor

  Chocolate as #$%&

  Chocolate as #$%& is a documented Fifty Licks flavor built around chocolate and house-made ganache. Its deliberately provocative name reflects the brand’s playful approach to flavor naming, while the product represents the richer, dessert-focused side of the menu.

• Non-dairy frozen dessert

  Dairy-free and vegan ice cream

  The brand offers non-dairy and vegan alternatives alongside its conventional ice cream. Fifty Licks has expressed a longer-term goal of making dairy-free products approximately half of its range, positioning dietary inclusivity as an ongoing product-development priority.

• Soft serve

  Soft serve

  Fifty Licks serves two soft-serve flavors as part of its daily offering. The soft-serve program complements the rotating scoop selection and gives the parlors a format suited to customers seeking a simpler, immediately served frozen dessert.

• Beverage and dessert

  Ice cream cocktails

  Ice cream cocktails extend Fifty Licks’ menu beyond scoops and soft serve by combining frozen dessert with cocktail-style service. They contribute to the brand’s positioning as an experience-oriented ice cream parlor rather than a shop limited to take-away cones.

• 2018Occupy ICE protest support

  Portland, Oregon

  During Occupy ICE protests, the Fifty Licks food truck distributed free ice cream to protesters.

  Outcome. The action became part of the brand’s documented local civic profile; no broader commercial outcome is reported.

  Source

• 2020

  Expand into SlabtownStrategy

  Background

  Fifty Licks continued developing a multi-location Portland retail footprint.

  Action taken

  The company opened a third location in the Slabtown district of the Northwest District.

  Aftermath

  The opening extended the brand’s neighborhood coverage in Portland.

  Source

• 2017

  Expand to a second Portland neighborhoodStrategy

  Background

  The first permanent parlor had established the business beyond its mobile origins.

  Action taken

  Fifty Licks opened a second location on East Burnside Street in Buckman.

  Aftermath

  The expansion was associated with increased popularity for the company.

  Source

• 2013

  Move from seasonal truck to permanent retailStrategy

  Background

  After establishing the concept as a summer food truck, Fifty Licks sought a more consistent retail presence.

  Action taken

  Chad Draizin opened the first brick-and-mortar parlor in Portland’s Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood.

  Aftermath

  The move created the foundation for later neighborhood expansion and increased national food-media attention.

  Source

1. 1Fifty Licksen.wikipedia.org