Since 1983, Marble Slab Creamery® has set its standards of quality unusually high. Every batch of our superpremium ice cream is homemade, and we hand-roll our freshly baked waffle cones in each store. As for mixins, we offer only the freshest fruits, the finest nuts, the sweetest candies, and the yummiest cookies around. So whatever your order, you can be sure it’s fresh and filled with fabulous flavor.

The Marble Slab experience starts when you enter one of our stores and are immediately greeted by the aroma of our freshly-baked waffle cones, available in a variety of flavors ranging from Vanilla Cinnamon to Dark Chocolate with Butterfinger®.

Then comes the moment of choice...deciding which one of our delicious, homemade, superpremium ice cream flavors best satisfies your craving. Will it be a traditional favorite such as Sweet Cream, Chocolate Swiss or Strawberry? Or perhaps a more unique flavor like Cheesecake, Chocolate Amaretto or Butter Pecan?

Once your desired flavor has been selected, the ice cream will then be scooped onto a frozen marble slab, where your choice of fruits, nuts and candies (a.k.a. Marble Slab "mixins") will be skillfully blended in, until the whole concoction is finally piled high on the delectable waffle cone of your choosing...creating your very own, one-of-a-kind dessert.

All together, it's a special ice cream cone that's made just the way you like it, just when you want it. Welcome to the world of freshness.

The choices at Marble Slab Creamery are seemingly endless, dozens of rich, homemade ice cream flavors, hand-dipped waffle cones and a multitude of mixins. Then there are all our other offerings.

1. Do I need previous food experience to get a Marble Slab Creamery franchise?
Experience is always helpful, but it's not necessary. We have a complete training program at our company-owned store and home office in Houston, Texas. If you're willing to learn, we're willing to teach you.

2. Can a store be purchased as an investment without me being the full-time manager?
Yes, but you need a qualified manager to operate the store. We have found that the more involved the franchisee is, the more successful the store will be. So we require that every franchisee attend the company's training classes in Houston.

3. What is the size of a typical store?
Between 650 and 1,500 square feet. Rent typically varies from $2,000 to $6,000 per month.

4. How much will it cost to open a Marble Slab Creamery store?
You need to consider a number of factors when evaluating the cost of a Marble Slab Creamery franchise. See Franchise Cost for a full breakdown of the typical costs and fees.

5. How much do landlords normally contribute to leasehold improvements?
We have found that this amount ranges between $12,000 and $30,000, depending on the location.

6. What does the franchise fee cover?
It secures the right to own and operate a Marble Slab Creamery in a given location, as well as the right to use the Marble Slab Creamery trade name, trademark, recipes, decor, and manner of doing business. It also includes site approval and assistance with lease negotiations, architectural layout and construction. Most importantly, it includes 10 days of training in Houston, Texas, where we teach you everything you need to know to operate and manage a Marble Slab Creamery store. Our trained personnel will help you open your store and offer you continued field supervision, public relations assistance, and an advertising program before and after your store is opened

7. How much cash will I need?
This depends upon your overall financial strength and your relationship with your bank. Generally, you will need at least 30 to 40 percent of the total investment.

8. Where do I get the equipment?
You can buy the required equipment from the supplier who gives you the best price. We currently have established relationships with several equipment suppliers. Just call us and we can put you in touch with them.

9. Can any of the equipment be financed?
Yes, either through your local bank or Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. Also, with proper financial strength, you can lease your equipment through leasing companies

10. Is your ice cream made in a factory and then shipped to your different locations like most ice cream franchises?
Absolutely not. All of our stores make their ice cream fresh daily starting with our secret-recipe milk dairy mix combined with only the finest ingredients. In fact, Sweet Cream, our most popular ice cream flavor, consists of only the base milk mixture with none of the flavors or ingredients added.

11. Do you serve anything else besides ice cream?
You better believe it. While ice cream, in a freshly baked waffle cone, is our “bread and butter,” we offer many other dessert alternatives, including: nonfat frozen yogurt, smoothies, shakes and malts, sundaes, banana splits, ice cream cakes and pies and made-from-scratch brownies.

12. Does Marble Slab have the capability to do ice cream catering?
You bet we do. Participating stores offer three types of catering: Sundae Bar, Portable Slab and the Ice Cream Social.

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We support our franchise brands with our new NexCen University training program. NexCen U offers state-of-the-art technology and training that is structured to make learning exciting and fun. NexCen U courses are drawn from the knowledge of our best-of-class management team with in-depth understanding of franchise systems.

We’ve got the globe licked! Marble Slab Creamery continues to spread throughout the world with stores in Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Arab Emirates.