Local man’s ice cream sandwich business gears up for summer fun

Summertime and ice cream go hand in hand, but for one Hampton native, the frozen treat is a year round commitment.

Dereck Lewis, a 2004 Hampton-Dumont graduate, is the man responsible for Thelma’s Treats, the ice cream sandwich brand that combines homemade cookies and soft serve ice cream.

Thelma’s, the name an homage to his grandmother of the same name who perfected the snickerdoodle cookie recipe still used in the treats today, started its roots as a cookie delivery service in the Des Moines area in 2012. Lewis explained he bought into a franchise that delivers fresh cookies and milk to doorsteps, but when they declined to bring Lewis’ ice cream sandwich idea into the lineup, he began his own service.

“I decided I was going to put all my chips in and start my own company,” he said. “We thought ours were good and we hadn’t seen anyone doing it with multiple flavors.”

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