Cinnamon, ice cream & ‘dessert symbiosis.’ We tried Columbia’s new Crispy Cones
A confession, right off the top: I’m a sucker for cinnamon. Especially on a warm pastry.
If you, also, are enamored with such things, plus soft-serve ice cream, fruit, candy toppings and more, there’s a new spot you may want to try in the heart of downtown Columbia.
Crispy Cones, a growing company that gained acclaim with a segment on the hit TV show “Shark Tank” and now has locations in a number of states, is formally opening on Friday, March 27 at 1204 Main St. in Columbia. That’s near the intersection of Main and Gervais streets, next to the Moxy Hotel.
The Columbia Crispy Cones is an effort from franchisees Jim and Elisa Westmaas. The shop on Main Street, which is in the shadow of the South Carolina State House, has been in the works since last summer. During a soft opening event on Thursday night, Elisa Westmaas said she was elated to open the doors on the Columbia location.
“It’s one of the most amazing feelings I think I’ve ever had,” Elisa said. “This is an amazing community. The Main Street District has been incredible, and so has the mayor’s office. Everybody who has helped us put this together has been amazing.”
There are a number of ways for customers to customize their treats at Crispy Cones, but the basic premise is this: It starts with a fresh dough cone that is rotisserie grilled and covered with cinnamon and sugar, or a rotating selection of specialty powders. You can then add a spread inside the cone — peanut butter, Nutella, etc. — and get it filled with one of any number of flavors of soft-serve ice cream. Then, if you so choose, you can add a topping such as cookie dough, fruit, almonds, etc.
During Thursday’s soft opening I grabbed a traditional Crispy Cone with chocolate and vanilla swirl ice cream and peanut butter cups. The ice cream was a cold and sweet treat on a warm spring evening in the capital city, and I believe that just about anything is better when you add peanut butter cups.
But the show here, clearly, was the warm, freshly grilled dough cone with cinnamon and sugar. Most of the time when you are eating ice cream, the cone is the secondary element. The collateral benefit. That dynamic is reversed at Crispy Cones.
As you get down to the bottom of the offering, the cold of the ice cream and the warmth of the grilled cone enter into a sort of dessert symbiosis. If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to hurry through the top of the ice cream to get to the bottom, where the cream and the cone are doing that sugary dance.
The cones are a take on treats that are popular in certain European countries, particularly the Czech Republic. That’s a long way from Columbia, but ice cream is a sort of universal language, I believe, especially in a capital city that can get as hot as a blast furnace.
The Columbia Crispy Cones is only the second location of the restaurant in South Carolina, following one in Greenville. Jim Westmaas said he considered several cities in the Palmetto State and neighboring Georgia, but ultimately was enamored with Columbia and its Main Street scene.
“I came here and fell in love with it right away,” Jim said. “It’s a vibrant community. It looked like a great area to be in. And it’s been excellent. The people have been wonderful.”
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 10:39 AM.
