San Diego Gelato Shop Named Best in US for Second Year

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A constant spectacle unfolds along Adams Avenue in the vibrant and eclectic North Park neighborhood located near downtown San Diego. Customers eagerly wait in an hour-plus-long line that extends down the sidewalk for their turn to enter a small store with a prominent “An’s Dry Cleaning” sign, only to leave with generous scoops of gelato. It’s a surreal sight that was dreamed up by a team of dedicated, unconventional thinkers. 

An’s Dry Cleaning — recently named the best indie ice cream shop in the U.S. for the second year in a row by USA Today — was founded by UC San Diego alumni, roommates and high school friends Kris Warren ’06 (Muir College, Sociology) and Travis Bailey ’06 (Sixth College, Political Science), as well as their friends David Agular and Jimmy Blalock. 

After graduating from UC San Diego, Warren traveled around Europe and met Agular, who worked in a gelato shop in Granada, Spain. The two became fast friends, and when Bailey visited during his law school studies, the three traveled together. As the years passed, Warren joined Azul Hospitality Group as an early employee, while Bailey graduated from law school in 2009. Agular continued to hone his gelato-making craft while managing multiple shops in Spain, before joining a gelato consulting firm where the team developed recipes for several high-end restaurants and Michelin-starred chefs in Barcelona. He then moved to Denmark to lead the production team at one of Copenhagen’s most successful and busiest gelato shops. 

Warren, Agular and Bailey kept in touch over the years. During one of Agular’s trips to visit Warren in San Diego, he joked, “I know how to make gelato and you know how to run a business. We could open a gelato shop here.” They called Bailey, who brought in Blalock, a friend from law school, and they began to seriously look into the idea. 

Warren leveraged his hospitality industry connections to secure what would become the first location — a former dry cleaners in North Park — and to design the space. The gelato flavors are curated by Agular, a renowned gelato consultant, who also serves as An’s chief gelato officer.

In North Park, the partners decided to keep the name of the previous storefront, An’s Dry Cleaning, and adopt it for their shop. The idea originated from designer Keenan Hartsten, who consulted with the group on the first store, and it quickly evolved into an “if you know you know” marketing strategy. They dove headfirst into designing the space to make it look similar to a dry cleaners, intentionally leaving the word “gelato” off of every external sign.

The team behind An’s was motivated to create a community staple: a place where people are excited to return again and again with others in tow. Of course, it also helps that their shop sells world-class gelato.

An’s menu includes seven flavors that rotate every two weeks, an unusual decision that was initially criticized by business advisors and experts for being too limited. The founders stood their ground and dedicated themselves to cultivating an unparalleled customer experience to go along with their gelato.  

For customers, one of the greatest parts of the An's experience is the opportunity to take an unrushed flavor tour: a sampling of each of the current gelato flavors before a final selection is made. It begins with an off-menu, ginger-lime flavored palate cleanser. Then, visitors sample the flavors in an intentionally curated order as the employee hands over the tasting spoons and provides insight into the notes and craftsmanship of each flavor. Despite how often the menu changes, there are typically two vegan options available.

“Many places don’t seem to like to give as many free samples, but that seems short-sighted if your goal is to make sure your customers end up purchasing a gelato they really like,” says Bailey. 

With flavor names in the North Park location such as Leather, Flannel and Cotton, An’s offers a tongue-in-cheek connection to its storefront’s roots. 

With this commitment to the product and the customer experience, it might be surprising to hear that Warren and Bailey both still have full-time jobs; Warren continues as a director at Azul Hospitality Group and Bailey is a lawyer in Los Angeles. Still, Warren and Bailey are happy to work together on their passion project, weighing in on everything from the selection of small decorative details to larger general business practices. “It takes a lot of effort to look effortless,” says Warren.

The motivation to continue developing their gelato business comes from two sources: a desire to own and champion something and a desire to stay connected to friends. Opening a business with friends ensures constant, honest communication. “We lived together and spent all of our time at UCSD together. We don’t have to sugarcoat things with each other,” says Bailey. “In life and in business, if you have good relationships that are open and transparent, it’s hugely helpful.” And business calls are also a good excuse to stay up-to-date on each other’s lives.

“When you're doing business with your best friend, some of it is business, some of it is joking around,” says Warren. “A lot of Travis and my business decisions are based around something that makes us happy, where we laugh and we're having fun — that's the litmus test.”

The pair partially credits UC San Diego for the existence of An’s. “College is an experience,” Warren says, “It’s part academic and part experimental.” From their time at UC San Diego, they are most grateful for the opportunities they had to grow into risk-takers alongside one another. 

Their friendship business model has reaped success and continues to grow today with four locations, each a spin on a prior storefront’s history: An’s Dry Cleaning in North Park, An’s Hatmakers in Del Mar, An’s Athletic Field Services in Petco Park and An’s Electronics Repair in Ocean Beach. Each branch has unique, store-inspired flavors and decor, as well as flavors that “travel” from one location to another.