Origin Story
With the passion to re-engineer ice cream from the ground up . . .
PROTOTYPING (2007)
On a mission to reengineer ice cream from the ground up, Smitten Founder, Robyn Sue Fisher, began inventing and developing her own ice cream machine that could churn fresh, ultra-smooth scoops in less than 90 seconds.
HITTING THE STREETS (2009)
Amidst recession, Robyn became a rogue street cart vendor, bringing her prototype Brrr® Machine atop a Radio Flyer® wagon to the streets of San Francisco. By stealthily tweeting her location and the flavor of the day, ‘wagoneering’ pop-ups became a popular underground foodie outing around the Mission and other SF neighborhoods.
FIRST SHOP (2011)
Robyn opens Smitten's first shop in a repurposed shipping container in San Francisco, quickly drawing lines that snake around the block. Word-of-mouth attracts customers from the Bay Area and beyond, while Vogue praises it as "the freshest, if not the best, ice cream on Earth."
PERFECTING THE TECH
Robyn invests in perfecting the Brrr® Machine technology, compiling a stellar engineering team comprised of mechanical, electrical and software engineers, a control systems expert, and an industrial designer to ensure ergonomics. With a commitment to continual improvement and design-for-manufacturability, the Smitten team achieves eight robust utility patents and the only sophisticated cryogenic-enabled ice cream machine of its kind.
SAN JOSE SHOP (2016)
Our magical little walk-up ice cream bar shop opens in San Jose’s Santana Row.
SF MISSION SHOP (2017)
Smitten returns to its roots, opening in San Francisco’s Mission District, where Robyn first pulled her wagon. The original prototype machine and battery pack are displayed here today.