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A familiar Houston ice cream name heads to one of the city’s growing retail corridors.
Marble Slab Creamery is preparing a new location at 11710 South Freeway, Suite 200, near the intersection of Highway 288 and West Orem Drive.
The 1,563-square-foot ice cream shop will join The Market at City Park, a newer retail center serving the rapidly developing area along the South Freeway.
And for Marble Slab, opening another Houston location is something of a homecoming.
Marble Slab Got Its Start in Houston
Long before Marble Slab Creamery expanded across the country, it started right here in Houston.
The company traces its roots to 1983, when its first ice cream shop opened in the city. The concept eventually became known for preparing ice cream on a frozen granite slab, allowing employees to fold candy, fruit, cookies and other mix-ins directly into each customer’s order.
That customization became the brand’s calling card.
Today, customers can choose from a wide selection of ice cream flavors before piling on mix-ins ranging from cookie pieces and candy to fruit, nuts and sauces.
Marble Slab also serves shakes, ice cream cakes and other frozen desserts.
More than four decades after the concept began in Houston, the brand continues adding locations around its hometown.
More Businesses Are Joining City Park
Marble Slab will be part of a larger wave of development around City Park.
Developers completed The Market at City Park in 2024, and it includes approximately 8,000 square feet of retail space. Current leasing materials show the center filling with a mix of restaurants and neighborhood services.
Chipotle already operates at the property, while The UPS Store and TLN Family Dental are also part of the tenant lineup. A separate state filing confirms The UPS Store is preparing a roughly 1,500-square-foot location in Suite 250.
Marketers promote Marble Slab alongside Great American Cookies, two sister concepts that frequently operate together.
Meanwhile, the surrounding development is expected to get an even larger draw.
Plans call for Joe V’s Smart Shop, H-E-B’s value-focused grocery concept, to anchor the broader Market at City Park development. Other restaurants and businesses already operating or developing nearby include Whataburger, McDonald’s, Panda Express and 7-Eleven.
A Sweet Addition Along Highway 288
The new Marble Slab will occupy 1,563 square feet inside the existing shopping center.
Plans call for approximately $150,000 in improvements to prepare the space for the ice cream shop. Construction is currently scheduled to begin in October 2026.
The project remains registered with the state, and an official opening date has not been announced.
Once it does open, Marble Slab will add another dessert option to a retail area that’s quickly filling in along Highway 288.
And there’s something fitting about that.
More than 40 years after Marble Slab started in Houston, the hometown ice cream brand is still finding new corners of the city to call home.