Circle Friday on your calendar. To celebrate several changes, including the opening of its 30-seat patio with a prime view of passing Metro trains, the Brookland cafe Fox Loves Taco will hand out a free scoop of ice cream with the purchase of any taco. 

While Friday’s ice cream will come from local purveyor Trickling Springs Creamery, Fox Loves Taco owners Matt Carr and Jena Carr announced today that they’ll soon be making their own ice cream with the help of pastry chef Lauren Parlato.

Parlato made gelato and other sweets at Tosca for seven years. The ice creams will be available at Fox Loves Taco and sister business Little Red Fox.

The Carrs have signed a lease on a new space near Little Red Fox where they will produce the ice creams and expand their bakery operations. “I’ve been looking for a space for the bakery to expand into for two years,” Matt says. “The new space will make wholesale pastries for Little Red Fox, Fox Loves Taco, and The Den. It will have a retail component that will include our own ice cream by the scoop, milkshakes, and an assortment of bakery treats.”

They’ll continue to serve Trickling Springs until the ice cream operation is up and running, ideally in six months.

Fox Loves Taco also expanded its hours starting this week. It’s now open 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Chef Bobby Dodd has rolled out a few new tacos including one meat-based offering featuring pulled pork in a savory mole sauce. 

Fox Loves Taco, 716 Monroe St. NE; (202) 636-3770; foxlovestaco.com