East Nashville ice cream shop aims to bring something sweet to Cleveland Park

Molly Davis, Nashville Tennessean
Updated ·2 min read

For decades, LaRonda Waller traveled back and forth on Douglas Avenue, rarely considering the East Nashville thoroughfare as a potential business location.

Fast forward to December 2023. With support from family and neighbors, Waller brought something sweet to the street she's long known — in the form of a scoop.

East Nashville Cream & Bean, a quaint, colorful shop tucked in a business plaza, serves a rotating menu of ice cream and specialty coffees, from lattes to frappes.

A variety of ice cream flavors is available at East Nashville Cream & Bean, a new ice cream and coffee shop in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of East Nashville, Tenn. on Jan. 3, 2024.
A variety of ice cream flavors is available at East Nashville Cream & Bean, a new ice cream and coffee shop in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of East Nashville, Tenn. on Jan. 3, 2024.

Milkshakes are also on the menu — Waller's son insisted. An ice cream sundae featuring mint chocolate chip ice cream and Oreo cookie pieces is offered in homage to a neighboring business employee who passed away before the grand opening of the shop.

For Waller, it all comes back to giving something to her East Nashville community.

"I just know it's going to be something special," she said. "We're going to watch it grow."

Finding the right fit in East Nashville

Waller has years of business experience from her days of owning a hair salon, which is why she wanted to open a new business in the empty space on Douglas Avenue in the Cleveland Park area of East Nashville. She just didn't know what business would be the right fit.

East Nashville Cream & Bean opened in December 2023, serving ice cream and coffee drinks to the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Nashville, Tenn.
East Nashville Cream & Bean opened in December 2023, serving ice cream and coffee drinks to the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Nashville, Tenn.

Her brother and business partner, Joseph Webster, thought an ice cream shop would be perfect because of nearby middle school and residential neighborhoods. Waller wanted to add coffee.

Their business concept was born.

Waller is proud to be a part of a group of Black-owned businesses in the neighborhood. It's an area of the city closely watched by real estate developers, in part due to its proximity to Nashville's upcoming Oracle campus.

"I want everybody to be able to have a piece of it," she said, talking about the opportunity for business growth in the neighborhood. "We're going to fight for this. It's a blessing to be here."

The ice cream shop, located at 304 Douglas Ave., is open Mondays through Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 12-6 p.m.

Molly Davis covers the intersections of population growth, real estate development, housing and business in Nashville for The Tennessean. Pitch a story idea to her at mdavis2@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: East Nashville Cream & Bean opens in Cleveland Park neighborhood