Who doesn’t love ice cream? Moreover, who wouldn’t love the chance to watch an ice cream mixologist create a unique blend of your favorite sweets right before your eyes? MarShae’s Sweet Escape is a liquid nitrogen ice cream catering service company in NWA that offers ice cream in a flash. Although liquid nitrogen looks like boiling water, it is actually extremely cold. The temperature of liquid nitrogen is 320° F below zero! It is odorless, colorless, flavorless and nontoxic. It has many uses from branding livestock to fire suppression, but foodies know that some of the best applications are when it comes to food. At MarShae’s they combine liquid nitrogen and their ice cream base to rapidly freeze the mixture resulting in a smooth and delicious treat. 

“MarShae’s” is a mashup of the names of husband-and-wife duo Mario and Cassandra La’Shae Coleman. The Colemans had recently moved to Dallas for job opportunities 30 days before COVID-19 swept through the country when a friend encouraged them to visit a nitrogen ice cream store. “After the first bite, I was sold, I loved the texture,” Coleman said. “I looked at my husband and said this is really good.” By the third visit, they were ready to open their own nitrogen ice cream shop.

 Born in West Palm Beach Florida, Cassandra moved to NWA in 2002 with her parents, eventually graduating from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. A former hospitality professional, she spent more than 10 years in the industry working at Hilton and as a national sales partner for Marriott. She and her husband also own DivaDance® NWA and have an 18-month-old daughter named A’Riya Rue. 

During the lockdown, they researched the industry and franchising opportunities which were way too expensive and were quickly ruled out. By the end of 2020, they decided to start the ice cream business from scratch and move back to Arkansas. 

Today customers can enjoy MarShae’s popular menu flavors like cookies-n-cream, airplane cookies, and mama’s puddin’ at their Citizens Park concession stand, the Bentonville Community Center, and local pop-up events in the area. “We usually offer two flavors at pop-ups and four to five flavors at the concession stand,” commented Coleman. They offer 60 flavors in total. 

The Colemans have big plans for MarShae’s including franchising the business in the same manner as Andy’s Frozen Custard. Only a handful of nitrogen ice cream franchises exist today including the major players Sub Zero and Creamistry. MarShae’s business is growing quickly. They believe their competitive edge is the business’ unique ability to freeze anything including alcohol for private events. 

For the immediate future, Cassandra wants to expand right here in the natural state. “I would love to see MarShae’s in every city in the NWA area, maybe even two in Rogers.”