‘Passion for ice cream.’ Bellefonte shop a dream come true for longtime local chef

Justin Leiter had a dream, a dream of ice cream. The Bellefonte native admits to being inspired “when I was younger, watching the cooking shows on PBS — Julia Child, ‘Yan Can Cook,’ Justin Wilson. Then I would go into the kitchen and pretend I was on a cooking show, creating ice cream sundaes with whatever ingredients I could find in the cupboards, like cereal. Since then, I’ve just always had a passion for ice cream.”

Leiter, 48, has made his dream come true in Bellefonte at The Parlor, which is located along Spring Creek and opened this summer. The former site of Good Intent Cider, the vintage building has indoor seating and an outdoor patio with a cool view of Spring Creek, where, the last time I was there, a half dozen boys in bathing suits scrambled to their swimming hole. It’s the perfect place to head on a sultry Saturday or Sunday to cool off.

Ava Bressler, 20, a Penn State kinesiology major, and Lorna Dixon, 20, a Bloomsburg nursing major, are Leiter’s right and left hands in the Parlor, scooping ice cream into cones and into dishes to order. The pair of personable scoopers has worked for Leiter for about three years, helping out with the food truck, Belle City Bites. With the many layers of food service that he provides to the public, Leiter is fortunate to have their help.

Early in the week, the Parlor serves as a pick-up point for Leiter’s meal prep service, Belle City Bites. Later in the week, Thursdays through Sundays, The Parlor is open, offering a savory sandwich and snack menu, as well as ice cream.

Many of the savory items were fan favorites from his days running The Red Horse Tavern or from his days as sous chef at the Gamble Mill under executive chef Courtney Confer. The beef for his burgers is American Wagyu, produced at Happy Valley Wagyu, a family farm in Centre Hall. This highly prized beef makes a world-class burger, especially when paired with his popular Roasted Brussel Sprouts or Roasted Fingerling Potato Salad as a side dish. Other savory sandwich options include Grilled Eggplant, Brisket, Grilled Chicken Tacos, and a Buffalo Chicken Meatball Sub. Children’s offerings are Cheeseburger Sliders and a Grilled Cheese.

The prep kitchen for The Parlor is located next to the building, where the ice cream bases are made and frozen using a state-of-the-art commercial ice cream maker. Each three-gallon batch is crafted with cream from Vale Wood Farms and blended with a diverse array of ingredients to create unique flavors. There are no shortcuts to Leiter’s recipes, which he developed on his own. For the Strawberry Pretzel Cheesecake ice cream flavor, Leiter bakes a cheesecake. All the sauces — caramel, hot fudge, triple berry, marshmallow and peanut butter fudge —are also made from scratch for limitless flavor combinations.

One unusual item on the dessert menu is the Cake Bomb, which begins with a homemade cake that is crumbled, mixed with ganache to bind it, and then wrapped around a ganache center. The Bomb is then coated with pancake batter and deep-fried. Forget your diet when you order the special, a Parlor Sundae, consisting of one cake bomb, two scoops of ice cream, one sauce, and a choice of a topping. The toppings include rainbow sprinkles, toasted salted peanuts, brownie pieces, chopped peanut butter cups, cherries, and chocolate cookie bits. You can orchestrate your own creation and fulfill your own dream.

The ice cream flavors change, although standards are offered daily — French vanilla bean, chocolate, butter pecan, salted caramel, and the aforementioned strawberry pretzel cheesecake. Specialty flavors are subject to change from time to time.

Chocolate espresso martini is a shout-out to the moms, said Leiter, and is blended with heavy cream, espresso, Irish cream liqueur and chocolate chips. For dads, there is a Dad Bod flavor designed for “comfort and indulgence” that includes chocolate ice cream with a marshmallow swirl, peanut butter-filled pretzels, and chocolate chip cookie dough pieces.

There is even an ice cream flavor for dogs, made with frozen yogurt and peanut butter, for the Barkley, and with vanilla, for the Gus, in the Cups for Pups category.

According to the Team Scoop, Amber Bressler and Lorna Dixon, the current favorite is Saylor’s Swirl, a mash-up of peanut butter ice cream with fudge ripple, peanuts, pretzels and chocolate cookie bits. Named after the littlest member of the family, the ice cream flavor is an homage that little nine-month-old Saylor can look forward to sampling once she graduates from her bottle. Saylor’s sister, Teyanna, started middle school this month, and Leiter designed a flavor to commemorate the occasion. Look for TT’s Cookie Craze, a salted caramel ice cream with chocolate chip cookie dough pieces, crushed chocolate cookie bits, and sugar cookies.

Leiter has spent his entire life working with food and said that the impetus to open The Parlor came from his new life as a new dad with his wife, Caitlin Leiter.

“The other push that made me decide to do this was once we had Saylor, I knew I wanted something that would allow me the opportunity to still be in her life and have something that would grow with her,” he said. “I felt like an ice cream parlor gave me the opportunity to do all that.”

And what child does not want a parent to own an ice cream parlor? It’s a dream come true.

The Parlor is located at 167 S. Potter St. in Bellefonte. The phone number is 814-482-7372. Its hours are Thursday and Friday 4-8 p.m., Saturday noon-8 p.m. and Sunday noon-6 p.m.

This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 6:31 AM.