Eiffel Waffle serves up ice cream like you’ve never had before

Two years ago, after taking their kids to a family wedding in Chicago, DeWitt couple Awais Ahmad and Daniyal Nawaz decided to take their kids out for some late-night ice cream.

They initially settled on an Eiffel Waffle Creamery location simply because it was open. As the family was enjoying the store’s unique flavors, bubble waffle “cones” and mini pancakes, Ahmad noticed a sign on the wall about potential franchisees.

“They had an application right on the wall for someone looking to franchise in Michigan, because they recently got approved to offer franchises in Michigan, and I just filled in an application,” he said.

Eiffel Waffle Creamery opened Friday, Jan. 2 in downtown East Lansing, offering a variety of unique menu items. Its signature item is the bubble waffle sundae, featuring ice cream and toppings served in a freshly made, still-warm waffle “cone” for an experience less like a traditional cone and more like, well, eating ice cream out of a waffle.

Ahmad said many of the menu items are firsts for the area, and he’s excited to introduce them to the community. On top of bubble waffle cones, the shop also offers mini pancakes with ice cream and other toppings, and Lotus Biscoff-flavored ice cream and matcha.

The ice cream is made in-house in Chicago and Ahmad said it is made with natural and organic ingredients.

The location is the Chicago-based chain’s eighth, and its first in Michigan. It also has several personal touches, with interior design being spearheaded by Nawaz.

“We just make sure the general trade dress is Eiffel Waffle, but then they have a lot of freedom when it comes to making the place theirs,” said Eiffel Waffle co-founder Omar Falaneh.

“So there’s a lot of things different about the spot, and she spent a lot of time designing the interior,” he said of Nawaz.

The shop is the second East Lansing ice cream shop to open in the span of a single deep winter month, with RJ’s Burgers & Ice Cream Co. opening last month.

Ahmad, a software engineer, owns the location, but Nawaz will run it. While Ahmad has entrepreneurial experience from designing applications and working as a consultant, owning a store like this is a first for both of them.

They are both excited to run a business in the area, where they have lived for 10 years.

“We love the college town feel, and our kids love it here,” Ahmad said. “We have no plans to move.”

The shop’s intended audience is MSU students, but Ahmad said he has been surprised to see older customers coming in.

“We initially thought that this was going to be for university-going people, you know, the students and kids,” he said. “But when we had a soft opening, we had so many senior citizens over here, and middle-aged people over here with families and all that. So I think it’s for everybody.”