Who Owns Cold Stone Creamery?

Donald and Susan Sutherland opened the first Cold Stone Creamery in 1988 in Tempe, Arizona, built around a single gimmick that became an industry category: super-premium ice cream made fresh in the store, then folded together with mix-ins on a frozen granite stone at -16 degrees Fahrenheit in front of the customer.

Franchising began in 1994 and growth was rapid through the late 1990s and 2000s, fueled by the theatrical "ultimate ice cream experience" positioning, including singing staff who serenaded tippers. The chain expanded aggressively across the United States and signed international master franchise agreements, with Japan becoming a notably strong market.

The 2007 merger with Kahala Corp brought the brand under a multi-brand franchisor with deeper operational infrastructure. Under Kahala, Cold Stone pushed co-branding, placing counters inside Tim Hortons in a test arrangement and inside other Kahala formats, and continued international franchising even as US unit counts plateaued and declined from their peak.

MTY Food Group's 2016 acquisition of Kahala folded Cold Stone into one of North America's largest franchisors. The brand continues to operate as Kahala's flagship dessert concept, with the 2020s bringing menu extensions into shakes, cakes, and delivery-channel sales through third-party platforms.