Zeds Real Fruit Ice Cream Files for Far West Blvd: $350,000, 1,390 Sq Ft, and Not That Mack Brown

Zeds Real Fruit Ice Cream has filed with the state to turn a 1,390-square-foot suite at 3637 Far West Blvd. in Austin, Texas into a fourth Austin shop. According to ATX Things' read of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) registration, the estimated cost is $350,000, work is scheduled to start Dec. 1 and finish April 1, 2027, and no opening date has been announced.

One thing to clear up first. The filing lists the tenant as "Mack Brown." That is also the name of the longtime Texas football coach, and our own records screening flagged this as a coach-opens-an-ice-cream-shop story. It is not. The Mack Brown on this permit is the co-owner of Zeds, the same person Fox 7 Austin quoted about the shop's break-ins. We checked before writing a word of the rest.

AI-generated illustration of a vacant retail suite; not a photo of 3637 Far West Blvd.

What does the state filing actually say?

The project is registered as TABS2027004884, "Zeds Real Fruit Ice Cream-Far West," with a registration date of Nov. 2, 2026. These are the fields that matter, as the TDLR page lists them (read Nov. 5):

A TDLR registration is an accessibility filing for a construction project. It tells you the work is planned and what it is expected to cost. It does not tell you when a door opens, and the start and completion dates are the filer's schedule, not a promise to customers. The Austin Business Journal reported Nov. 2 that the shop will go into the former Tide Cleaners space. I could only read the free preview of that story, so I am attributing that detail to them rather than confirming it myself. Our records show an earlier, separate TDLR project for a Tide Cleaners at the same address, last active in 2021.

Who is behind Zeds, and what is it?

Zeds sells New Zealand-style soft serve with real fruit blended in. According to the shop's About page, it opened in Southeast Portland in April 2016 after one of its founders tried the style on a trip to New Zealand. In 2022, Mack Brown and TJ Brogan took over with, in their words, a goal to "preserve what made the brand special while thoughtfully growing it across Austin and Central Texas."

AI-generated illustration; not a photo of a Zeds order.

The About page lists each owner's usual order, which is the closest thing to a menu recommendation I can give without having been in. Brown's is blackberry with La Lechera and graham cracker. Brogan's is banana with peanut butter and Oreo. I have not tried either, and I did not read a current price list.

Where are the Zeds shops now?

Zeds lists three Austin locations on its website. Each location page shows the same hours line, "12 – 10pm," without naming days, so check before you plan around a Monday.

• East Side: 1814 Harvey St., Austin 78702, 512-316-5580.
• Tarrytown: 2727 Exposition Blvd. #128, 512-665-7583. The site prints the ZIP as 78702, which looks like a typo for the Tarrytown area; confirm the address before you drive.
• Westlake: 3736 Bee Caves Rd., Suite 8, West Lake Hills 78746, 512-269-3944.

According to the Austin Business Journal's headline and preview, the chain also has a San Antonio shop in the works, and the owners have looked at a South Austin site. Neither is in a state filing I could read, so treat both as the paper's reporting, not ours.

What would a Far West Boulevard shop change?

Far West Boulevard in the 78731 ZIP is about six miles north of downtown, according to the state record's location data. It sits farther north than any of the three open shops, which are on the East Side, in Tarrytown and in Westlake. I have not been to the suite, and I have not seen a lease, so I cannot say who else is in the center or how parking works there.

What the record does support is a timeline. If the filing's schedule holds, the build-out runs through the winter, which puts a spring 2027 opening in play. That is an inference from the permit dates, not an announced date. Construction schedules slip, and ice cream shops tend to open when the weather turns warm, not when the permit says.

What else should locals know?

• Nothing is open here yet. The suite is a construction project on paper. Do not show up at 3637 Far West expecting a cone.
• Check the filing yourself. The TDLR project page is public: search project number TABS2027004884 on the state's architectural barriers database.
• We will update this if Zeds announces a date or the project status changes. If you work at or near the center and know more, tell us.

FAQ

Is Zeds opening on Far West Boulevard? Zeds has registered a $350,000 interior remodel at 3637 Far West Blvd., Ste B, with the state, scheduled to start Dec. 1, 2026 and finish April 1, 2027. The company has not announced an opening date that we could find.

Is the Mack Brown on the permit the football coach? No. The tenant is Mack Brown, co-owner of Zeds Real Fruit Ice Cream, according to Zeds' About page and a Fox 7 Austin interview. He shares a name with the former Texas coach and is a different person.

How many Zeds locations are there in Austin? Three, per the company's website: Harvey Street on the East Side, Exposition Boulevard in Tarrytown and Bee Caves Road in Westlake. A Far West Boulevard shop would be the fourth, and the northernmost.

Does Zeds take cash? Fox 7 Austin reported that Zeds went cashless years ago. We could not confirm the current policy at every location, so ask the shop.

What does the ice cream cost? I did not find a current price list, so I am not quoting one. Check the menu page on Zeds' website.

Sources, all read Nov. 5, 2026: TDLR TABS project TABS2027004884; Zeds website and About page; Fox 7 Austin; Austin Business Journal (preview only). Related reading: the November Austin Development Report, what's pending on our Coming Soon page, and Zabalist's public permit records. We publish twice a day, morning and afternoon, on what is actually open, actually happening and actually worth the drive.