It is the east, and Sweet Rose is the sun!

A rose by any other name might smell as sweet — but as far as taste goes, Sweet Rose Creamery is unmatched. And lucky for us Samo students, the artisan ice cream shop is expanding to two new locations, one of them right next door.The "Instafamous" eatery just opened up its new shop at 826 Pico Blvd., which is already their primary location for manufacturing their ice cream. I think it's safe to say that this will be a nice addition to the neighborhood."It's super good ice cream so it's going to raise the bar for food places in the immediate area," Skyler Muldaur ('15) said. "I think the new location is going to be great to go to after school for a snack."Sweet Rose co-owner Josh Loeb is also excited for the new location. He is trying to make the new Sweet Rose a "neighborhoody" location."I like to see what the neighborhood and student body wants," Loeb said. "I don’t think ice cream is something that you should drive a long distance for. I think it should be a neighborhood thing."The owners of the shop, who own other eateries around Santa Monica, are incorporating pastries from their shop Milo & Olive and a Caffe Luxxe coffee bar at the new location."Hopefully people will come on their way to school for pastries and after school for ice cream," Loeb said.Most Samo Sweet Rose frequenters are overjoyed, but the shop is still definitely not cheap. A small cone is $5, and the cheapest thing on the menu is a $2 bonbon."When you have students that have to decide between spending their money on $8 ice cream at Sweet Rose and $1.50 cones at Donut King, I can only imagine that they would choose the cheaper option," Sintra Martins ('14) said. "But a scoop of organic, handmade ice cream is richer in nutrients than a bag of factory processed takis, that's for sure."The shop is also working to make ice cream more affordable for their nearby clientele."We're offering a 10% discount Monday through Friday for all students and teachers with a valid Student ID card," Loeb said.The new store is currently the epicenter of Sweet Rose's ice cream production, complete with a 100 foot long cooler where all of the ice cream is made. Because of this, the new location will act as a place for testing "experimental" flavors, which according to some devoted fans, is what makes it so great."There are lots of weird quirky flavors and that added to the whole 'oh look at me I'm going to Sweet Rose Creamery' thing," Muldaur said. "Also, the ice cream is great."cgoldberg@thesamohi.com