Cream Northwest Celebrates 10 Years in Newberg

NEWBERG, Ore. — Ten years after scooping its first cone in the bright orange trailer, Cream Northwest Ice Cream is marking a decade in downtown Newberg with classic flavors, creative experiments, and a growing list of awards.

Owners Mike Roberts and Helen Voong opened Cream in July 2015 in the parking lot of the former Chehalem Winery—now Stoller Wine Bar – Newberg—with the goal of offering house-made ice cream that balanced familiar favorites with inventive seasonal flavors. In the early years, Roberts said, some of the more unconventional offerings took time to catch on.

“When I first opened, I was doing some unusual flavors, and Newberg wasn’t quite ready for them,” Roberts said. “Over time, people have gotten used to it. Now we can release something with miso or lavender, and it sells out in a few days.”

In 2020, Cream Northwest moved into Chapters Books & Coffee, serving scoops and pints year-round. Lavender remains the shop’s most popular seasonal flavor, offered only in July to celebrate lavender season. Year-round bestsellers include chocolate, cold brew coffee, and sweet cream. 

Roberts develops each recipe in-house, often starting with a flavor pairing he’s encountered in a restaurant or market and adapting it for ice cream. Not every experiment works—custard ice cream with nori, for example—but some become customer favorites after just one season.

Cream’s reputation extends beyond Newberg. The shop has won Best of the Willamette Valley several times and earned top placement in The Oregonian’s statewide reader poll this year, beating out Portland staples like Salt & Straw and Cloud City.

“It was great to see people willing to go and vote for us from Newberg,” Roberts said. “It’s brought in new customers, especially from Portland.”

As for what comes next, Roberts said there are no immediate plans to expand.

“Pretty much from the day when I started, I never had a plan,” he said. “I’ve always been the person who comes up with ideas, and I’m great with the ideas, but I’m not always 100% finishing them off — I’m a 98% guy. I just head in the direction and hope I get there.”

Switching to Solar

This year also marks a shift to solar power for Cream Northwest’s production facility. Working with the Energy Trust of Oregon, Roberts and Voong installed rooftop solar panels to stabilize future electricity costs and donate any surplus power.

“It gives us a way to know what things are going to cost each year,” Roberts said. “When things are so unpredictable, it’s nice to know what we’re going to pay for energy when things are more expensive year over year. And anything we overproduce is purchased and goes back. Nothing goes to waste.”

Much of Cream Northwest’s energy use comes from its walk-in freezer, which spikes in cost during the summer. The solar panels will be most active during that season, offsetting much of the operational expense Roberts said.

U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas visited the facility Thursday, Aug. 7, to commemorate the addition of solar power. Roberts provided a tour of the warehouse and production space before joining Salinas for a roundtable discussion with representatives from the Energy Trust of Oregon and solar contractor Elemental Energy.

“[Roberts] knows the rate of solar, and that helps him assess his other costs, especially where tariffs are causing a lot of volatility in his supplies,” Salinas said. “He produces locally and procures locally for the fruit, but those other supplies, it’s volatile right now. Reliable solar energy helps him actually mitigate any potential inflation or recessionary periods.”

Roberts spoke about the impact of nationally imposed tariffs, noting that he and Voong have absorbed some costs to keep prices stable for popular flavors.

“We use a lot of cocoa and coffee and other ingredients we can’t grow here,” Roberts said. “There are a lot of ingredients we can source locally, but most of the classics are grown elsewhere.”