Owner story · Philadelphia

“People from Philly like people from Philly.”

Zac Parker · Co-founder of The Igloo, with Bill Chlebowski

2,972deliveries by PinkbotSince March 2026

$52Kof desserts deliveredSince March 2026

A milkshake with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle in an Igloo cup

Frozen yogurt, an acai bowl, water ice, cookies and chocolate pretzels from The Igloo on marble

23rd and South, since 2013

It began as a healthy fro-yo shop. Now it’s Philly’s home for all frozen desserts.

Zac Parker grew up in a Northeast Philly row home. Bill Chlebowski came from Clarksville, Tennessee, and was working in finance at the Franklin Institute when the two started planning a business of their own. In 2013 they opened The Igloo at 23rd and South as a Greek frozen-yogurt shop. Families and kids kept coming in, so with Caroline Smith, who joined the ownership a year later, they grew the menu to “pretty much every frozen treat so everyone’s gonna be happy.”

“We started as boyfriends and ended as best friends.”Zac Parker, to Philadelphia Gay News, 2024

Frozen yogurt with strawberries and chocolate in a blue Igloo cup

The menu

Ten kinds of soft serve, hard scoops made in the shop, and a cup for the dog.

Most of the soft serve is made at the shop every day: custard, frozen yogurt, ice cream, sorbet, vegan ice cream and gelato, with local Pennsylvania dairy. Since ice-cream school at Penn State, the hard scoops are made there too, some named for people, like Caroline’s Cookies and Cream and Donato’s Cherry Amaretto.

House favorite

Cinnamon Toast CrunchThe cereal soaks overnight in cream, then goes into soft serve and cookie sandwiches

Made in the shop

Hard scoopsCup of Joe, Peach Pie, Banana Wafer and Caroline’s Cookies and Cream

Imported

YogorinoItalian frozen yogurt with a premium sauce, like pistachio

Philly classic

Water iceCherry, lemon, mango and rainbow

Shakes

Asia’s Acai ShakeFrozen acai, vegan vanilla ice cream, fresh fruit and granola

For the dog

Pup cupsGreek yogurt or peanut butter yogurt, with a dog biscuit on top

Two milkshakes in Igloo cups with green and red straws

Delivery with Pinkbot

Pinkbot brings The Igloo to the door.

Busy with deliveriesIn the pandemic the shop added a pickup window and, as Zac told AL DÍA in 2021, got “super busy with deliveries.”
Since March 24, 2026Pinkbot carries The Igloo’s orders from 23rd and South to customers’ doors.
476 deliveriesin April 2026, the busiest month so far.
About 14 a dayon an average day this fall.

Thirteen years at 23rd and South, and seven months with Pinkbot.

2013The Igloo opens where Grays Ferry Avenue meets South Street, with a grand-opening party in March.
Jan 2022The shop reopens after a winter rebrand as Philly’s home for all frozen desserts.
2024After ice-cream school at Penn State, the hard scoops are made in the shop.
Mar 24, 2026Pinkbot makes its first delivery for The Igloo.

“We always try to make sure the community knows we’re part of it.”

Zac Parker · “People support local in this city.”

Visit The Igloo

Find it where Grays Ferry meets South.

2223 Grays Ferry AvePhiladelphia, PA 1914623rd and South, at the Triangle

Order online Book a party @the_igloo

The words on the shop’s wall, over the polar-bear family.Birthdays take over the whole shop: all-you-can-eat soft serve and toppings for up to 25 guests, with an Igloo staffer for two hours.