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G&D's is the affectionate moniker
that refers individually and collectively to our 'boutique' ice cream
production facility and three 'Ice Cream Cafés' based in
Oxford, England. G&D's specialises in high-quality natural
ice-cream and in providing bright, colourful, friendly and
unpretentious
café spaces that serve quality food and beverages including
bagels, salads and freshly roasted coffee.
The first Ice Cream Café, called
'George and Davis', opened in the summer of
1992 in Little Clarendon Street, Oxford (see 'How It All
Started'). In November 2001, the second Ice Cream Café,
called‘George and Danver,' opened on the corner of Pembroke
Street and St Aldates (opposite Christ Church College). In December
2007, the third Ice Cream Café, called ‘George and Delila'
opened in the Cowley Road in the former Blackwells Publishers
building across the street from the Ultimate Picture
Palace cinema.
Each café is a separate limited company and is intended to have
its own personality yet share certain fundamentals (see 'How It All Started). Regarding the naming of the cafés, the 'George' is
George Stroup, the founder of G&D's who lives in Oxford and
has overseen G&D's development since it was a twinkle in his
eye (as it were).There is much speculation regarding identities
of Delila, Davis, Danver and the next 'D'. As a tribute to
some of the great stories we've heard over the years and to encourage
more creative rumination, we're not telling :)
The Ice Cream Café in Little
Clarendon street houses our ice cream production facilities. This is
where we experiment with and perfect the ice cream and sorbets
flavours that we serve in our cafés. The production centre
has been the birthplace of some flavour masterpieces (too
many to mention), ground-zero for a few culinary wipeouts (notably
an infamous batch of avocado ice cream) and ever so rarely (ahem)
the venue for some extracurricular antics including an impromptu body
slide competition precipitated by the accidental spillage of a special
order of 30+ litres of Strawberry Frozen Daiquiri. (The
competition was won a by scantily clad member of women's Blue Boat [or
was it the WLRC?].)
Watch out for our delivery bikes zooming
around town piled high with fresh ice cream and our other
home-made products. Most of our bakery items are made on the premises
of the Pembroke Street café (George and Danver).
The philosophy that underpins
G&D's is that a business should be a sustainable vehicle for
social good and seek to make a genuine and positive contribution to its
community. Wishy washy mumbo jumbo? For some people social
entrepreneurship is a fad, for us it's a long-standing conviction and
daily practice that both creates the conditions for and defines
'success'.
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