Bay Area's beloved Three Twins Ice Cream closes operations amid COVID-19 pandemic

PETALUMA, Calif. (KGO) -- The North Bay's beloved Three Twins Ice Cream, known for its organic ingredients and tasty flavors, is discontinuing operations and closing shop amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In a Facebook post, Neal Gottlieb the founder and CEO of the business announced as of Friday the Ice Cream shop would be suspending operations on Friday because of its financial situation, only made worse by the COVID-19 crisis.

"The result was that the business had been unsustainable and a capital infusion was necessary, but proved to be impossible. Any chances of a last minute solution were erased by the pandemic. As a result, we have no choice but to shut down the business," Gottlieb wrote.

Founding Twin Neal Gottlieb started the business in 2005 when he was sharing an apartment with his twin brother, Carl and Carl's wife who was also a twin, hence the name, Three Twins. The business quickly turned to a Bay Area favorite where ice cream was sold as scoops at the farmers' markets and hand-packed pints at local grocery stores.

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"Thank you for all of your support over the years. It means more than I can possibly express in words. It's been quite the journey. Collectively we brought millions and millions of servings of joy to customers around the world, showed that you don't need to sacrifice to eat organic, and funded the purchase of 12,000 acres of land through Ice Cream For Acres."

Though the shop closed its doors on Friday, Gottlieb added, "It is possible that somebody will revive the brand in the future, but unknown how likely that may be."

Gottlieb ends his message sharing, "I have always lived by the philosophy that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. While this is a heartbreaking end to a 15 year (and two day) dream, I feel entirely lucky to have had this opportunity. Thank you for sharing it with me."

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