Speer Madanat’s favorite childhood memories are driving to “Amish country” to get what he considers the best dessert in the world: plain vanilla ice cream.
“We would go to the Shady Maple area to get their ice cream, and all that was just cream and sugar,” says Madanat. “That’s just how it was, and I always missed it. That’s what I based my vanilla cone on: simple, no mix, nothing. I want you to taste the cream.”
As an adult, the Coatesville native has turned his love of simple food into a growing local empire. He owns two successful businesses—Pizza West Chester and Steaks West Chester—and he’ll open his third by May 12 at the latest. (Keep an eye out on social for updates.) Ice Cream West Chester will be an homage to Madanat’s favorite dessert and celebrate everything there is to love about the West Chester community.
“I love ice cream because I love simple. I love simple flavors,” says Madanat, who would much rather have a vanilla cone with chocolate sprinkles than a fancy crème brûlée.
“I’m picky with ice cream. I want to taste the milk,” he says. “I don’t care too much about how sweet it is, because I think once you add all the sweetness to it, it removes that freshness of milk.”
Sourcing Fresh Scoops
Growing up, Madanat’s mother made nearly everything from scratch. That strong foundation in homemade simplicity and high quality defines all his businesses.
After four years as a business owner in West Chester, Madanat says his main focus is sourcing high-quality ingredients.
“That’s the number one important thing; you have to keep sourcing,” he says. “You never sit back and you’re like, ‘Oh, I got the best.’ There’s always something better.”
Ice Cream West Chester will serve almost every ice cream variation: soft serve, custard, sorbet, milkshakes, dips, sundaes and sandwiches. Plus, Madanat is sourcing everything locally. The milk for all ice creams comes from the Baily’s Dairy, just seven miles from the storefront in Unionville.
Madanat says he’s going for a Kohr Bros style. There will be four flavors of soft serve—two standard, two rotating. At the start, these will be vanilla, chocolate, peanut butter and strawberry. For the other options, Madanat says he was inspired by what he calls “signature desserts.” He’s planning on turning popular treats like baklava, knafeh, Dubai chocolate and more into ice cream. The “signature bar” for the shop will be an old-school ice cream sandwich with crisp chocolate wafers.
For those with dietary concerns and intolerances, there will be inclusive options like coconut milk-based, nut-free and dairy-free lemon sorbet as well. “We’re going to be able to meet anybody’s ice cream indulgence,” says Madanat.
A Surprise Launch
If you want to be one of the first to try Ice Cream West Chester, you’ll have to keep your ear to the streets (and on Instagram) because Madanat doesn’t plan on announcing his grand opening. It’s going to be a surprise, late-night party. At some point in early May, Madanat will open Ice Cream West Chester to the public.
“We’ll be open from 10 p.m. ‘til like 1 a.m.,” Madanat shares. “I like to incorporate a lot of the businesses in town and have bars, restaurants and people coming into West Chester that day use us as the dessert when they’re all done.”
In the future, Madanat hopes to collaborate with more of the businesses in town at Ice Cream West Chester. He mentioned Happy Bakery with their “outstanding cinnamon bun”—”I’d love to make an amazing milkshake out of it”—and Yuri’s blueberry pie as potential collaborations.
“We’re going to have fun with the area that’s around,” he enthuses. “We’re definitely going to be creative on some of this stuff, unlike Pizza.”
Building a Foodie Empire
By “Pizza,” he means his first West Chester venture: Pizza West Chester. It’s known for only serving three kinds of pizza—plain, pepperoni, and white—and being made-to-order. You have to go in person; no call-ahead here.
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“Adding more toppings to a pizza does not make you a better pie, it just gives you more toppings,” says Madanat. “Then you waste your time worrying about mushrooms. I want to be focused on the crunch, the crust, the sauce, the cheese pull.”
Pizza West Chester opened in October 2021 and, within the first week, Madanat says he gained more than 5,000 followers on Instagram.
“When we opened, I was like, ‘Let me just do 35 pies.’ The hours were 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. I don’t think I even lasted to 2 p.m.” Madanat recalls. Four years later, the energy around Pizza West Chester is as strong as ever. It’s technically open until 7 p.m., but most days, Madanat says they’re sold out by 6 p.m.
The menu may be simple, but Madanat makes sure every ingredient is of the highest quality and every detail of the pizza is perfect.
“I always say that first bite of pizza is the most important bite, and you can’t beat that just coming out of the oven,” he says, adding, “so you wait for it. There’s an inconvenience where people are so rushed now [that] they want everything immediately, but people can give 20 minutes.”
There’s someone else who’s known for talking about that first bite of pizza: Dave Portnoy, owner of Barstool Sports (he goes by @stoolpresidente online) and host of the “One Bite” pizza review series. He famously opens every review with the phrase “one bite, everyone knows the rules.”
Just a year after opening, Portnoy went to Pizza West Chester. “It’s a great pizza. I knew it was going to be a great pizza,” says Portnoy in his video review. “If you’ve been watching me score pizza for a decade, you knew this was going to be up there.” He gave the cheese slice an 8.4/10.
“That’s outstanding in the pizza industry. That’s huge,” Madanat enthuses.
Getting a review by Portnoy is the ultimate dream of any pizza chef or pizzeria owner. “For the customers, after just one year, to get him to walk through that door was unbelievable, just amazing,” Madanat observes.
When he came back for the night shift later that day, Madanat says there was a line down the street. “When they say the Portnoy effect is real, it’s real,” he notes. “I would need more than 100 pies to serve all those people in line, just because they knew Barstool hit it in the morning.” After the review, Madanat’s fame skyrocketed. He says that’s when everyone started noticing: Craig Laban, Michael Klein, the area influencers, etc.
He opened his second storefront, Steaks West Chester, in late 2023. Madanat says steaks were the natural route for him because he had worked at a “steak and pizza joint” in his youth (“It’s what I know” he explains). It’s the only place in West Chester that serves 100% ribeye steaks. It also hand-cuts its fries in-house and uses a special house seasoning.
An Exciting Future for Ice Cream West Chester
With Ice Cream West Chester about to open, Madanat plans to sell pints to-go at all three of his stores. Pizza and Steaks will have their own exclusive flavors.
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“I have so much energy, I need to dump it somewhere,” says Madanat. “I have to keep myself busy or I get super bored.”
A self-described “people person,” Madanat thrives on the connections he builds with customers and the community.
“I give at a high level, and the customers respond by sharing me, by spreading good words around the community, on social media and spreading that good energy,” says Madanat. “It makes my job easier. In West Chester, you show up for each other.”
Madanat looked at a few locations when trying to start Pizza, but chose West Chester because it felt like home. He loves this town; that’s why he put it in the name of all three of his stores.
“It’s a great community,” he says, “West Chester is where it’s at, and I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to stay.”
Related: Speer Madanat Is an Under-the-Radar Restaurateur in the Philly Suburbs
