Handel's Homemade Ice Cream on State Street in Carlsbad Village is a franchise outpost of the Youngstown, Ohio-based brand that has churned ice cream from scratch on-premises since 1945. The Carlsbad scoop shop maintains the original production model — each flavor mixed, frozen, and served in-store — drawing from a rotating catalog of more than 150 recipes that includes regional specialties rarely found west of the Rockies, a made-on-site freshness that pairs naturally with the specialty-coffee program at Vinaka Cafe blocks away. National Geographic Magazine recognized the brand as having the best ice cream on the planet, and the chain has expanded from a single gas-station counter to more than 175 locations across 20 states under the continued ownership of the family that acquired the business in 1985. Signature flavors include Salty Caramel Truffle, Buckeye (a chocolate-peanut butter combination rooted in the brand's Ohio heritage), and the Hurricane — a thick blended concoction layered with mix-ins like chocolate-covered strawberry or cookie dough. The State Street walk-up window anchors the Village's dessert corridor and captures foot traffic from the Carlsbad Village restaurant scene, including the seafood dining rooms along Carlsbad Village Drive such as Harbor Fish Cafe. Each batch is frozen using a process adapted from the original recipes that founder Alice Handel developed with fresh backyard fruit in 1945, and the Carlsbad location stocks pints, quarts, sundaes, and shakes alongside single-scoop and double-scoop cone service.