Scoops of Nostalgia: Dairy Bell Ice Creamery Still Sweetens Malvern East

On Chadstone Road in Malvern East, a familiar Australian name still draws families after school, couples after dinner and anyone who grew up chasing a Dairy Bell cone on a Melbourne summer afternoon. Dairy Bell Ice Creamery at 89 Chadstone Road continues a story that began in 1970, when two ice-cream enthusiasts set out to make flavours that would take people straight back to childhood.

The original factory and flagship shop once stood nearby on Belgrave Road / Waverley Road. That manufacturing site closed in 2015 and was later redeveloped, but the brand — and the habit of stopping in Malvern East for a generous scoop — never quite disappeared. The Chadstone Road parlour is the local continuation of that lineage: Australian-owned ice cream, classic and modern flavours, hot donuts, waffles, sundaes and ice-cream cakes, served from a neighbourhood shop rather than a supermarket freezer.

 

A Melbourne name with a long memory

Dairy Bell was founded in 1970 by Andre Razums and John Stanford. At its height the company ran dozens of shops across Victoria and manufactured ice cream and ice blocks from its Malvern East plant. Generations of Melbourne families remember mango and honeycomb double scoops, frothy milkshakes, take-home tubs and the proud “Australian Owned” lettering on the old factory wall.

In 2015 the founders announced they would close the factories, citing supermarket price wars and weekend labour costs. A last-minute deal with Bon Appétit Australia saved the brand, recipes and remaining shops. Ownership later passed to Aurora Foods, a Melbourne manufacturer that has kept Dairy Bell ice cream in production and returned classic two-litre tubs to freezers. Retail stores, including the Malvern East outlet, have operated independently since around 2017.

That is why the Chadstone Road shop still matters. It is not a replica of the old factory floor, but it is the closest thing Malvern East still has to the original Dairy Bell ritual: choose a flavour, watch it being scooped, sit with a sundae or take a litre home.

The store also trades on social media as Dairy Blends Malvern East, while delivery platforms list it as Dairy Bell Malvern East (Chadstone). Locals know it as the ice-cream shop on Chadstone Road.

 

What you will find behind the counter

The menu is built for both a quick cone and a full dessert outing.

Ice cream and gelato. Classic scoops and take-home tubs (including one-litre packs) sit alongside flavours that reviewers keep naming: Blue Heaven done properly, fruit sorbets such as blood orange and green apple, sticky-date pairings, cookies and cream, Golden Gaytime, rocky road, salted caramel and Nutella. Childhood regulars still call it their favourite.

Sundaes and banana splits. The chocolate fudge sundae and banana split are the house showpieces — several scoops, sauces and toppings, large enough to share. Super cones (chocolate-dipped) are a popular grab-and-go option.

Warm desserts. Belgian waffle plates come loaded with Nutella, salted caramel, rocky road, cookies and cream, Golden Gaytime, coconut or Biscoff. Hot jam donuts, Nutella donuts, cinnamon donuts and churros sit beside sticky-date pudding and chocolate volcano cake, each served with ice cream.

Ice-cream sandwiches, slices and cakes. Chocolate-chip or Anzac biscuit “sangas” filled with vanilla, cookies and cream, honeycomb or Golden Gaytime ice cream; lemon slice, Tim Tam slice, caramel slice and brownies; and made-to-order ice-cream cakes for birthdays and Christmas. Seasonal specials have included pavlova ice-cream cakes and chocolate strawberry cups.

Shakes and smoothies. Thick-shakes built on several scoops of gelato, classic milkshakes, and fruit smoothies for anyone who wants something colder than a cone but lighter than a sundae.

Delivery platforms regularly rate the Malvern East shop around 4.4–4.6 from hundreds of orders, with customers praising flavour, generous portions and, more recently, sustainable packaging and bamboo spoons.

 

Why Malvern East still queues here

Part of the appeal is simple geography. Chadstone Road sits between local streets, the train line and the pull of Chadstone Shopping Centre. It is an easy stop after sport, after shopping, or on the way home from the inner east.

The larger reason is memory. Dairy Bell was never a boutique gelateria. It was the suburban ice-creamery: colourful, generous, a little messy, and reliably there. Parents who were brought here as children now bring their own. Reviewers still write “favourite from childhood” more than fifty years after the first scoop was sold.

The shop also does the practical things a neighbourhood parlour should do: takeaway tubs for the freezer, ice-cream cakes with notice, donuts by the half-dozen, and a menu that works for a five-year-old as well as a table of adults sharing waffles.

Hours vary by day and season (weekend and school-holiday evenings run later). Check the Facebook page Dairy Blends Malvern East or Instagram @dairyblends_eastmalvern before you set out, especially on public holidays.

Visit Dairy Bell Ice Creamery

Dairy Bell Ice Creamery (Dairy Blends Malvern East)
89 Chadstone Road
Malvern East VIC 3145

Telephone: (03) 9530 4369
Email: dairybellmalvern@gmail.com

Social: Facebook — Dairy Blends Malvern East
Instagram — @dairyblends_eastmalvern

Typical hours (always confirm before visiting):
Tuesday–Thursday: from mid-afternoon into the evening
Friday: from midday
Saturday–Sunday: from early afternoon
Monday hours are limited or closed — check the shop’s latest post.

Street parking is limited on Chadstone Road; there is additional parking nearby. Takeaway, dine-in treats and delivery via Uber Eats and DoorDash are available.

Whether you remember the old factory on Belgrave Road or you are tasting Dairy Bell for the first time, the invitation is the same as it was in 1970: pick a flavour, take a scoop, and stay a little longer than you planned.