When Jeff and Sarah Wynn unlock the doors to their Wynston’s Ice Cream Co. shop in San Marcos just after midnight on Sunday morning, they expect a long line of customers to be queued up.
Sunday is National Ice Cream Day, and this year marks the third time the Wynns have hosted a 24-hour celebration on July 19 at their shop on North City Drive near Cal State San Marcos. Jeff Wynn said business doubles on that day each year, and with all the promotions he and his wife have planned this weekend, they’re expecting customers at all hours of the day and night.
Chris Wynn, co-owner of Wynston’s Ice Cream Co., adds ingredients for ice cream on Thursday, July 16, 2026 in San Marcos. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“National Ice Cream Day is our biggest day of the year, and closing for any part of it felt like leaving the party early. If you have ever wanted a scoop at 3 a.m., this is the day,” said Wynn, who plans to be at the San Marcos shop with his wife for the whole event, minus a 3-hour nap in the pre-dawn hours.
The first 25 people in line Sunday morning will get a free scoop. From 1 to 2 a.m., the shop will be selling sundaes with doughnuts from Peterson’s Donut Corner in Escondido. There will be BOGO and 50%-off deals in the wee hours of the morning. And then at 8 a.m. there will be waffle ice cream sandwiches for sale.
There will also be several promotions with French pastry chef Christophe Rull, whose patisserie is around the corner, a fundraiser for Disabled American Veterans, and San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones will be a “guest scooper” Sunday afternoon.
The 24-hour promotion is one of many ways the Wynns work to make Wynston’s unique in a premium ice cream market that Wynn said has “exploded” in recent years, with multiple chains like Jeni’s, McConnell’s, Salt & Straw and Handel’s opening shops across the county.
Another way Wynston’s distinguishes itself is the shop’s ice cream, which Wynn creates himself.
Since the San Elijo Hills couple opened their first shop in 2020, he has developed more than 250 flavors. About 185 are in regular rotation at Wynston’s, which also has a smaller, 1-year-old scoop shop in Carmel Valley.
In 2021, his For the Wynn Chocolate, better known as FTW Chocolate, won first place in the North American Ice Cream Association’s annual ice cream clinic. Since then, Wynston’s has racked up 16 more national and regional medals, including prizes for its Old Reliable vanilla, strawberry, Pickle Whiskey Sour and Parmesan & Apricot, the last of which won Flavor of the Year at the Ice Cream Association’s 2023 West Region championship.
Sarah Wynn, co-owner of Wynston’s Ice Cream Co., scoops ice cream for a customer on Thursday, July 16, 2026 in San Marcos. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Wynn works full time in the video game industry, but the Michigan native has had a lifelong passion for ice cream and had always dreamed of owning his own scoop shop.
For many years, he and Sarah moved around the U.S. and abroad for his work. But when their children, Ella and Max, entered their teens several years ago, they decided to settle for good in North County. Today, Ella is studying to be a surgeon at a university in Colorado, and their son, Max, is working full time at Wynston’s with the goal of taking over the business when his parents retire.
Sarah Wynn is the public side of the business. She enjoys meeting people and getting ideas for how they can improve their customer service. “I love seeing our customers’ faces when they taste the ice cream. It’s so fun.”
The couple’s focus this year has been on expanding their wholesale division, which represents just 3% of their business now. They supply all the ice cream for the milkshakes at Crack Shack restaurants and they are selling Wynston’s by the pint at The Butchery market in Del Mar. Wynn said they’re also considering opening another retail location in 2027.
Business has been growing steadily, with 1,200 gallons of ice cream sold in June, which is almost twice the monthly sales in 2023. The company now has 43 employees.
The shops carry eight “always” flavors, including its top-selling chocolate-covered strawberry, cookie dough and cookies ‘n’ cream; a rotating selection of eight “sometimes” flavors; and two “hold the cow” non-dairy flavors, like this week’s Chamoy e Peach sorbet. Wynn said he’s been experimenting lately on some future flavors that may incorporate corn, miso and yuzu.
Wynn built a website that allows customers to pre-order pints for pickup and vote for the flavors they miss the most. The ones with the most votes each month join the “sometimes” list the following month. The site also lets customers know when the shops are down to their last containers of popular flavors.
Sarah Wynn said Wynston’s caters to a customer base of students, families and local residents, who tend to be very loyal. As a result, she and her husband listen closely to their suggestions.
When a customer complained about there not being a page on the website for gluten-free offerings, Chris built one within two hours. When customers complained about the auto-tipping screens on the shop’s point-of-sale devices, the Wynns eliminated tipping altogether and instead pay their employees an automatic 20% on each sale. They also cut prices on their most-expensive menu items and changed the cardboard bowls the ice cream is served in at customer request.
Wynn said his next goal will be to build a mobile phone app, where loyal customers can join a rewards program.
“We’re always pivoting to what the customers want,” he said.
The schedule of activities Wynston’s is hosting in San Marcos for National Ice Cream Day can be found here: wynstons.com/blogs/news/national-ice-cream-day-july-2026.