It’s creemee season, and Bristol has a new way to enjoy Vermont’s favorite cool summer treat. As of June 28, Holy Halvah will offer swirls of vanilla or maple garnished with its maple-sweetened sesame halvah and other toppings at the company’s 28 North Street production facility. Creemees, sundaes and shakes will be served Thursday through Saturday, 3 to 8 p.m., with extra holiday hours announced on Instagram.
Rebecca Freedner, 49, started selling her Vermonty version of the rich, crumbly, tahini-based Middle Eastern sweet two summers ago at farmers markets. Since then, she and her partner, Shaun Dedrickson, 45, have expanded online sales. Holy Halvah is now in stores throughout Vermont, plus a few out of state.
On May 1, the couple moved production to the commercial kitchen space on Bristol’s North Street, most recently the location of Smoke & Lola’s. In addition to the original halvah made with white sesame tahini, they now make a Noir version with black sesame tahini.
The creemee idea came from Freedner and Dedrickson’s continual suggestion to customers to crumble halvah over ice cream. “We thought, What if we got a creemee machine and served it the way we are always telling people to try it?” Freedner said. “It was a wild brainstorm.”
Holy Halvah sources creemee mix from East Hardwick’s Kingdom Creamery of Vermont. A cup or cone can be topped with either original or Noir halvah crumble. The Lucid Dream sundae comes with warm, maple-salted tahini drizzle, maple whipped cream and halvah. The Ananda split adds caramelized banana to the sundae. Halvah is whipped into the Vortex shakes.
Chocolate lovers be forewarned: That flavor is not on the menu. “It just cancels out the halvah,” Freedner said.
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2025.
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