Mehdi Shirvani, who operates Mashti MaloneвЂ™s, launched a second store in Westwood in April. I only put out what I want to eat myself.вЂќ

вЂњSo, being able to have all this now is cool. вЂњI was vegan back in the вЂ™90s when there was cheese that was just like Tupperware,вЂќ she said. But the growth in popularity of veganism increased the availability of ingredients and the number of customers seeking her products. вЂњI didnвЂ™t know anything about business,вЂќ she said. Heather Kuklin launched Madame Shugah nine years ago out of her Silver Lake garage to make vegan, gluten-free and soy-free ice cream sandwiches that tasted as good as their traditional counterparts. Proprietors are not only selling their products out of carts, food trucks and other nontraditional venues but also offering hand-crafted sandwiches, milkshakes and other unique desserts that cater to the specific needs and appetites of their clientele. Much of what these businesses offer is different from the malt-shop model of yesteryear.

вЂњI donвЂ™t think itвЂ™s a big surprise that we also have some amazing local artisanal ice cream brands.вЂќ really in the past five or 10 years has been at the forefront of the food scene and food culture in this country,вЂќ Brooks said. Smorgasburg General Manager Zach Brooks credits this explosion of ice cream businesses to an increasing sophistication in consumer food habits, along with improvements in access and quality of ingredients and the cityвЂ™s thriving mix of different cultures. They are staking a claim in an increasingly competitive marketplace and are contributing to a nationwide industry that generates $13.1 billion in gross sales and other economic output and provides more than 26,000 direct jobs generating $1.6 billion in direct wages, according to the International Dairy Foods Association.Дowntown Los AngelesвЂ™ open-air food market Smorgasburg LA held its fifth annual вЂњIce Cream Alley,вЂќ a curated lineup of local ice cream and sweet treat businesses, from July 18 through Sept. While a handful of local ice cream-makers have a longstanding presence, such as Mashti MaloneвЂ™s, which opened its doors in 1980, several are less than a decade old. The Business Journal estimates there are more than 50 local ice cream businesses headquartered in Los Angeles, a figure that excludes chains that do big business here but are headquartered elsewhere, such as Santa Barbara-based McConnellвЂ™s Fine Ice Creams Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Columbus, Ohio-based JeniвЂ™s Splendid Ice Creams Portland, Ore.-based Salt & Straw and, of course, Baskin-Robbins, which moved its headquarters to Canton, Mass., in 2004. The industry has since become a bustling community with a wide variety of offerings that are scooped and sold locally and nationally. In Los Angeles, thereвЂ™s always room for ice cream.Д«y the time brothers-in-law Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins founded the multinational brand Baskin-Robbins by merging their Glendale ice cream parlors in 1948, the frozen treat was already a modest staple of L.A. Natasha Case cofounded Culver City-based Coolhaus in 2009.

Mashti and mehdi shirvani