There is a new place in town to keep cool, whet your appetite and delight your sweet tooth. The Sweet Shoppe opened at 208 Main Street on July 1, boasting a wide variety of ice cream flavors and treats in a very quaint setting.
Co-owners Tim Pendred and Maryjane Best originally planned on opening a breakfast/lunch style shop for some time, and decided after much deliberation that the town had enough places for lunch. It needed something sweeter, and another place for families to sit down and enjoy time together.
When space became available at 208 Main Street, they took hold of their dream and seized the opportunity to open The Sweet Shoppe. There are seven employees currently, ranging from family members to friends. Tim and Maryjane hired two girls with ice cream experience to help them train their employees in the art of scooping, soft serve and customer service.
"We sell hard ice cream, soft serve, two flavors each of gelato and Italian ice for twenty flavors in all. Kids can come in and get snow cones made to order , which happens to be a real treat for them because most of the time you can only get them at carnivals and fairs,” says Pendred.
“Eventually, there may be some chairs and tables outdoors that will be great in the fall, but I like to eat my ice cream in the air conditioning," he adds. "We are open six days a week and closed on Mondays.”
Business has been steady for the new merchants, and everyday a little more word of mouth sends new customers in.
One of the things that make this shop different is “Buck’s Ice Cream,” a delicious and creamy ice cream made right here in Connecticut out of a plant in Milford. “When people come in and see the ‘Bucks’ sign, they just light right up. We have some really different flavors-like ‘Swamp’ it’s like candy with a side of ice cream, loaded with M&M’s, Oreos, malted milk balls and chocolate chips," boasts Pendred.
“Our soft serve is really delicious and creamy too”, he added, noting that the difference in texture comes from the amount of butter fat used. “There are three different kinds of soft serve, depending on the amount of butter fat that ranges from 3 1/2 percent, 5 percent and 10 percent. We serve the 10 percent, because it is by far the creamiest, richest and best tasting. It’s just like old fashioned frozen custard.”
When it comes to a wide array of sweet treats, the shop is bursting with a case of gourmet chocolates, shelving and counters stocked with Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, gourmet popcorn, dipped pretzels, marshmallows on a stick and dipped Oreos. Let’s not forget to mention chocolate and caramel dipped apples and gift baskets and specialty flavor preserves.
Tim Pendred, Maryjane Best and their employees will also whip up milk shakes for their patrons from any flavor ice cream in the case. They offer sundaes, banana splits and floats on the menu as well.
You can visit Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays between the hours of 11 a.m. and 10 p.m., and all day Sunday from noon until 8 p.m.
