Nico's Ice Cream

Nico's Ice Cream is an independent ice cream company founded by Nico Vergara in Portland, Oregon, in 2021. The business began with a food cart and pop-up appearances, including service at Prost Marketplace, before moving into permanent retail locations. Its first brick-and-mortar shop opened in Portland's Cully neighborhood in November 2021, followed by a second Portland location in the Vernon neighborhood in November 2022. The company subsequently expanded beyond Oregon, opening locations in Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz, California, in October and November 2024 respectively. The brand is centered on New Zealand-style soft serve. Its menu combines soft serve with fruit, sauces, seasonings, and textural toppings, giving the business a highly visual and customizable dessert format. Fruit choices have included blueberries, kiwi, mango, marionberries, raspberries, and strawberries. Mango has been associated with a recurring “Tropical Thursday” offering. Toppings have included chamoy, coconut flakes, graham cracker, rainbow sprinkles, and Tajín seasoning. The company has used Tillamook and Umpqua ice cream products in its offerings. Nico's retail identity emphasizes bright, playful presentation. The Vernon shop on Killingsworth Street has colorful artwork, a neon sign, and a cartoon-style logo. In addition to scooped or soft-serve retail service, the company sells half pints through wholesale and retail distribution. What began as a limited local offering expanded to approximately 100 locations across Oregon and Washington by 2023. The business has also used collaborations and event vending to broaden awareness. In 2023, Nico's partnered with the Portland Pickles on a pickle-flavored ice cream served at Walker Stadium, hid a golden ticket in a half pint with a year of free ice cream as the prize, and participated as a vendor at the Waterfront Blues Festival. In 2024, it appeared at a warehouse sale organized by Powell's Books. These activities position the company as a community-oriented dessert brand rather than only a conventional neighborhood scoop shop. Nico's has received favorable local attention, including a fourth-place ranking in the ice cream category of The Oregonian's 2024 Readers Choice Awards. The company remains privately held and associated with its co-owners, Nico Vergara and Kelton Stone. Publicly available material does not establish a separate parent company, public listing, or reported financial results.

Nico's Ice Cream was founded in Portland, Oregon, by Nico Vergara in 2021. Vergara initially developed the business through a food cart and pop-up events, including a period at Prost Marketplace. The early operating model allowed the brand to test its New Zealand-style soft serve concept in a mobile and event-oriented setting before committing to permanent retail. Public descriptions have reported that Vergara used money earned through stock-market investing to start the business, although no detailed financial figures are publicly established. In September 2021, Vergara confirmed plans for a permanent shop on Fremont Street in Portland's Cully neighborhood. That location opened in November 2021 and became the company's first brick-and-mortar store. The move from food cart and pop-ups to a fixed shop marked the first major transition in the company's development, giving Nico's a stable base for serving soft serve, fruit combinations, and toppings. Nico's expanded within Portland in 2022. Its second location, on Killingsworth Street in the Vernon neighborhood, opened on November 5, 2022. The shop became associated with a colorful interior and exterior presentation, including artwork, a neon sign, and the company's cartoon logo. This visual identity complemented a menu built around playful flavor combinations and customizable toppings such as chamoy, coconut flakes, graham cracker, rainbow sprinkles, and Tajín seasoning. The company also developed a packaged-product presence. Half pints were initially available through a limited number of outlets, but distribution expanded to approximately 100 locations in Oregon and Washington by 2023. This broadened Nico's reach beyond its own shops and made the brand available through a regional network while retaining its Portland identity. Community events and collaborations became another part of the brand's growth strategy. In 2023, Nico's placed a golden ticket in a half pint sold at one of its Portland shops; the prize was free ice cream for a year. The company also worked with the Portland Pickles to offer a pickle-flavored ice cream at Walker Stadium and served as a vendor at the Waterfront Blues Festival. These activities connected the brand with local sports, cultural events, and novelty-driven promotion. In 2024, Nico's moved into California, opening a Monterey Bay shop in October and a Santa Cruz shop in November. The expansion represented the company's first reported move outside Oregon and Washington. That year, it also participated in a Powell's Books warehouse sale. Local reception remained positive: Nico's ranked fourth in the ice cream category of The Oregonian's 2024 Readers Choice Awards. Nico's is co-owned by Vergara and Kelton Stone. Available reference material identifies the business as an independent company and does not identify a parent corporation, public listing, or disclosed financial results. Its development has therefore been characterized by small-format retail, event participation, regional packaged distribution, and measured geographic expansion rather than by publicly documented acquisition or corporate consolidation.

• 2024

  California expansion

  [1]Nico's Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  The company opens locations in Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz, California.

• 2023

  Regional half-pint distribution expands

  [1]Nico's Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  Nico's half pints become available at approximately 100 locations in Oregon and Washington.

• 2022

  Second Portland location opens

  [1]Nico's Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  A Vernon neighborhood location on Killingsworth Street opens on November 5.

• 2021

  Business founded in Portland

  [1]Nico's Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  Nico Vergara establishes Nico's Ice Cream and begins serving customers through a food cart and pop-up events.

• 2021

  First permanent shop opens

  [1]Nico's Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org

  The first brick-and-mortar location opens in Portland's Cully neighborhood in November.

A playful, community-oriented independent ice cream brand built around New Zealand-style soft serve, colorful presentation, fruit combinations, bold toppings, pop-ups, local collaborations, and regional distribution.

• Soft serve · 2021

  New Zealand-style soft serve

  Nico's core retail offering is New Zealand-style soft serve served in a format designed for customization. Customers can combine the ice cream with fruit, sauces, seasonings, and crunchy or colorful toppings. The product is central to the brand's shop experience and supports its playful, visually distinctive positioning.

• Ice cream dessert · 2021

  Fruit-topped ice cream

  Fruit options have included blueberries, kiwi, mango, marionberries, raspberries, and strawberries. Mango has been featured through the recurring Tropical Thursday offering. The fruit menu gives the soft serve a fresh, colorful profile and allows the company to rotate combinations or highlight seasonal preferences.

• Packaged ice cream

  Nico's half pints

  Half pints extend Nico's Ice Cream beyond its company-operated shops. The packaged products were initially distributed through a limited set of outlets and later reached approximately 100 locations in Oregon and Washington. They have also served as a platform for promotions, including the 2023 golden-ticket campaign.

• Collaborative flavor · 2023

  Pickle-flavored ice cream

  Created with the Portland Pickles, this novelty flavor was offered at Walker Stadium in 2023. It illustrates Nico's willingness to use unusual flavor concepts and local partnerships to create event-specific products.

• 2024Powell's Books warehouse sale vending

  Portland, Oregon

  Nico's served as a vendor at a warehouse sale organized by Powell's Books.

  Outcome. The appearance reinforced the company's event-based and community-oriented marketing presence; no further results are publicly reported.

  Source
• 2023Golden Ticket

  Portland, Oregon

  Nico's hid a golden ticket in a half pint sold at one of its Portland shops.

  Outcome. The ticket offered the winner free ice cream for one year; no further campaign performance details are publicly specified.

  Source
• 2023Portland Pickles pickle-ice-cream collaboration

  Portland, Oregon

  Nico's partnered with the Portland Pickles to create a pickle-flavored ice cream for service at Walker Stadium.

  Outcome. The collaboration provided a venue-specific novelty product and local sports association; detailed commercial results are not reported.

  Source
• 2023Waterfront Blues Festival vending

  Portland, Oregon

  Nico's participated as a vendor at the Waterfront Blues Festival.

  Outcome. The event extended the brand's presence into a major local cultural setting; no attendance or sales outcome is documented.

  Source

• 2024

  Expand into CaliforniaStrategy

  Background

  After establishing shops and regional distribution in the Pacific Northwest, Nico's pursued an out-of-state retail presence.

  Action taken

  The company opened shops in Monterey Bay in October and Santa Cruz in November 2024.

  Aftermath

  The openings marked Nico's first reported retail expansion beyond Oregon and Washington.

  Source

• 2023

  Expand packaged-product distributionStrategy

  Background

  Nico's initially sold half pints through a limited number of locations.

  Action taken

  The company expanded availability to approximately 100 locations in Oregon and Washington.

  Aftermath

  The move broadened access to the brand beyond its own shops and supported promotional activity such as the golden-ticket campaign.

  Source

• 2022

  Add a second Portland locationStrategy

  Background

  Following the opening of the Cully shop, Nico's continued building a local store network.

  Action taken

  The company opened a Vernon neighborhood location on Killingsworth Street on November 5, 2022.

  Aftermath

  The Vernon shop became a prominent expression of the brand's colorful retail identity.

  Source

• 2021

  Move from mobile service to a permanent shopStrategy

  Background

  After launching through a food cart and pop-ups, Nico's needed a stable retail base for its Portland operation.

  Action taken

  The company opened its first brick-and-mortar shop in the Cully neighborhood in November 2021.

  Aftermath

  The permanent location was followed by a second Portland shop in 2022 and later expansion outside Oregon.

  Source

1. 1Nico's Ice Creamen.wikipedia.org