Photo courtesy of Fabled Ice Cream
Fabled Ice Cream was founded by Alexandria bookstore owner Ally Kirkpatrick.
Fabled Ice Cream, the storytelling-inspired small-batch brand Old Town Books owner Ally Kirkpatrick launched last year, has found its first permanent home: 7940 Fort Hunt Road, in the former Hairvisions spot at Hollin Hall Shopping Center just south of Alexandria.
The space is entering build-out now, with an opening anticipated in May 2027, Kirkpatrick said Monday.
"All of the ice cream will be made in house using local dairy and high quality ingredients," she said. "We’ll make our own fudge sauce and caramel, our own waffle cones. The vibe isn’t chef-y, though — it’s approachable family friendly flavors just made really well!"
Kirkpatrick describes the location as personal — she grew up going to Hollin Hall and is a longtime Fort Hunt resident — and has framed the shop as a neighborhood gathering place, the kind of spot kids bike to and families linger at on a summer evening.
What the shop will be
The plan is a classic neighborhood scoop shop filtered through storytelling: American hard-scoop ice cream, 16 flavors at a time, with non-dairy and allergy-friendly options.
Kirkpatrick's work building Old Town Books has influenced some of her decisions going into her new business.
"I’ve learned to collaborate with teams I trust — in this case I’ll be working again with GrOH Playrooms," she said. "They designed Old Town Books Junior and did such a fantastic job, I feel like I’m in great hands!"
"Building out Old Town Books also influenced how I think about flexibility in a space," she said. "Having easily movable tables and seating, for example, is a must in a space I hope to host events in. I imagine hosting a book club inside Fabled one day, so being able to shift things around as needed for that — or say a birthday party — is key."
"We will stock a curated selection of books for sale," she said. "The focus will be on ice cream, but there will be a small shelf for book club books and my favorite ice cream cookbooks."
Between now and 2027
Fabled already produces its ice cream in Fort Hunt and will keep making it and appearing at events during construction. Pints are sold through weekly drops picked up inside Old Town Books, 130 S. Royal St., in Old Town Alexandria on Fridays from noon to 7 p.m., with orders placed at hotplate.com/fabledicecream.
The company also runs an ice cream trike that appears at the McCutcheon/Mount Vernon Farmers Market at 2501 Sherwood Hall Lane from 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays. Remaining fall dates are Sept. 23, Oct. 21 and Nov. 18.
The ice cream flavors are dubbed with literary names and have been the brand's signature since it launched: a brown butter Brontë riff called "Wuthering Bites" made with toffee, an Earl Grey and lavender "Jane Eyre Grey," and a cotton candy flavor tied to Charlotte's Web.
The most popular ice cream? "So far Cliff Hanger, our peanut butter ice cream with dark chocolate covered pretzels, has been the crowd pleaser!" Kirkpatrick said.
Her favorite flavor is Grape Sherbet, "which we haven’t launched yet but hope to do so this winter," she said. "Grape is such a beautifully perfumey, rich flavor that when combined with the cream is just heavenly! I’m calling it 'Grape Expectations.'"
The backstory
Kirkpatrick founded Old Town Books at 130 S. Royal St. in 2018 and has built it into a business with a team of 16. She holds an MA in creative nonfiction from NYU, has written for Guernica, Edible DC and Roxane Gay's The Audacity. She moved to ice cream pop-ups — including one at the bookstore's seventh anniversary in November — and spent its first stretch as a mobile cart and catering operation working farmers markets, bookstore events and private functions.
