Sweet summer treats: 'Tis the season for ice cream
- Mark Jahne
- 3 days ago
- 7 min read
by Mark Jahne
Editor
Summer is the season when thoughts turn to vacations, cookouts, trips to the beach and eating ice cream.
Not that it doesn’t taste good the rest of the year, but there’s something about the hot weather that makes this frozen dairy treat taste that much more delightful. We decided to visit some family-owned ice cream shops in this area.
Main Street Creamery
“This is our 10th season,” Kathy Clarke said.
She and her husband Michael purchased the Main Street Creamery at 271 Main St. in Old Wethersfield a decade ago when he decided to give up teaching and become a business owner.
“We bought it when it was 15 years old. We are truly family run. We have three kids and they all work here,” Michael said.
“It’s been wonderful. It’s the best decision I ever made as far as work goes. It’s a place that really brings a lot of joy to people. We try to have something for everybody.”
That includes vegan, lactose-free and gluten-free, frozen yogurt and no sugar added products. The low-fat soft serve is free of nuts, gluten, soy and eggs.
“Our vegan offerings have gotten a lot more expansive over the years,” Kathy said. “We keep our soft-serve machine allergen free.”
They made it through the pandemic by adapting to the conditions. The couple also learned that ice cream was a key component of mental health for many people who were struggling with fear, social distancing and all the other aspects of that dark time.
“We got even busier during COVID. It provided a little normalcy,” Kathy recalled.
They had to install circles on the floor and outdoors to show people how to stand safely apart from one another. Only one customer was allowed into the shop at a time. She laughed at the memories.
“We had to hire an ice cream bouncer to make sure people stayed in their circles,” Kathy said.
Another adaptation was selling boxes of ice cream including cones and toppings. She added that the love of ice cream crosses all generations. Michael said whenever they travel, they always seek out a family run ice cream shop. The Main Street Creamery serves more than 50 flavors of ice cream and nearly 30 toppings.
Staff confirmed that the most popular flavors are vanilla and Oreo cookie. The shop offers catering services and has two vintage trucks for use at community events.
Mortensen Dairy Ice Cream
It has been 111 years since the Mortensen family founded a dairy business. It has changed over the years but the family name and product live on at Mortensen Dairy Ice Cream at 3145 Berlin Turnpike in Newington.
“We’re busier than ever,” Rodney Mortensen said.
He owns the business with a lot of help from his son Todd and daughter Erika Haelen. They make the ice cream themselves and are always willing to test new flavors.
“Now that it’s summer, it’s getting busier,” Todd said. “We’ve got over 50 flavors. We change the flavors periodically. We have something for everybody.”
Among the unique flavors on sale one recent day were Georgia peach, fresh blueberry and piña colada.
Keeping up with consumer trends is important to them. That’s why the shop offers dairy free, vegan and gluten free frozen treats as well as low-fat frozen yogurt. Erika is a big fan of “dirty sodas” (soda with dairy added) and those will be available soon.
She said dot cakes, another new trend, have gone viral on social media. They tend to sell fast.
“It’s a layer of [Hostess] Twinkies and our ice cream with these viral sparkles,” she explained.
The wall is covered with “best of” and other awards as well as photos of the family’s history in the dairy business. There’s no room for anymore.
“I worked in the dairy with my dad when I was a kid,” Rodney said.
Mortensen started making ice cream 51 years ago. He is pleased that over the years more than 1,000 local teenagers got their first job working there.
In addition to hard ice cream and soft serve there are a variety of other frozen attractions ranging from the traditional ice cream sandwich to ice cream nachos.
“We’re constantly trying to improve anything we can,” Todd said.
“We stay true to making the best possible ice cream we can,” Rodney added.
He is confident that’s why they have so many long-time customers.
Tall Man’s Homemade Ice Cream
Kyle Pavlick recently purchased Tall Man’s Homemade Ice Cream at 564 Main St. in Cromwell. He may be new to the shop, but he’s not new to the dairy business, nor to this town. He owns another shop here and his wife Maia teaches at Cromwell Middle School.
“I’ve had ice cream businesses for most of my life,” he said. “My family has been in the ice cream business since the 1940s. This is our third ice cream shop.”
The Durham resident owns the Cromwell Creamery on Willowbrook Road and the Durham Dairy Store. He also owns an ice cream distribution and supply company in Wallingford. He said his father invented aerosol-propelled whipped cream dispensers.
He’s not surprised that this frozen treat is a summer mainstay and that there is enough business to support shops like his all over the state.
“We consume more ice cream products in New England than any other place in the country. I think they should add ‘ice cream capital’ to those signs” on the highway proclaiming Connecticut as the basketball capital of the nation, he said.
“There are a tremendous number of new ice cream shops in central Connecticut over the past four or five years. There’s a lot of nostalgia. It brings everybody back to their childhood. People are looking for high butter fat and homemade ice cream,” Pavlick added. “You can really be creative with it.”
That includes special fall flavors and a taste that several shops indicated is gaining in popularity, peanut butter and jelly.
He offers a selection of specialty flavors with no chemicals added. The ingredients are cream, sugar and dairy solids. Toasted almond is a highly popular flavor. Children tend to like any flavor or topping that is brightly colored.
“People really care about what’s in the product now. It’s important to have a clean label,” he said.
Innovative offerings include vegan and no sugar added treats.
“There is a tremendous demand for that now,” he said. “Last year we started doing flavored soft serve. We’re serving sunshine rainbow.”
Woody’s Coffee & Ice Cream
Ken Rasmussen-Tuller and Andrew Rasmussen-Tuller are the owners of Woody’s Coffee & Ice Cream at 319 Main St. in Cromwell. They both have “day jobs” but can often be found at the shop later in the day and on the weekend.
“It felt like a right fit. I have a master’s degree in business,” Andrew said.
They are pleased that this shop enables them to employ young people. The married couple have three children, two boys and a girl. There is plenty of traditional ice cream as well as non-dairy, vegan and no sugar added options.
“We just brought in self-serve,” Andrew said.
An unusual selection is the acai bowl. They blend puree with blueberries and bananas and top it with fresh fruit and sauce.
Customers can select from a wide variety of toppings. There are six varieties of cones including one that is gluten free. Beverage offerings also bring people in the door.
One can order a “dirty soda” (soda pop with dairy), boba beverages and pastries such as a gourmet cinnamon roll.
“We do coffees, frappes and frappuccinos,” Ken said.
“We just love the atmosphere and the vibe, the cultural district,” Andrew added. “We carry three brands.”
They are Hershey, Bliss and Gifford.
“We made a lot of changes in here, brought in a lot of new things. We make cannolis here, too,” he said. “If we have the stuff, we will make it for you.”
“Our flavors change all the time,” Ken said.
Comedic actor Will Farrell came to town for the Travelers Championship and called Cromwell the “Paris of Connecticut.” They took advantage of that.
“We started an Eiffel Tower special a day later,” Ken said.
They decided to buy the shop earlier this year. Business has been good and they appreciate the community’s support.
“We support the Cromwell Little League and they support us,” Ken said.
“We do give-back nights” for various nonprofits, Andrew added, and plan to be part of the upcoming Riverport Festival from Sept. 24-26.
Salem Valley Farms Scoop Shop
Matt Viens started in the ice cream business in the southeastern Connecticut town of Salem in 1988. A few years ago, he and his wife Tara bought an existing shop at 2229 Silas Deane Highway and renamed it the Salem Valley Farms Scoop Shop.
“We have kept everything the same” while at the same time enhancing the flavors, he said. That includes adding dairy-free options and sorbets to the menu. He has also dabbled with small batch products.
“We try to have fun with different recipes. At the peak of summer we offer 75 flavors,” Viens said. “We’re trying a Dubai chocolate. We have done a southern peach bourbon-based ice cream.”
It’s approved for children. The recipe includes bourbon extract but no there is alcohol content. Other flavors rapidly rising in popularity are peanut butter and jelly with a raspberry swirl and Fluff the Magic Dragon, a frozen take on the Fluffernutter.
“We make our own ice cream. Every day that machine is running,” he said.
There are sundaes, milk shakes, floats and splits. Salem Valley Farms features premium ice cream with 16 percent butter fat. The Rocky Hill location is only a couple of years old and they are enjoying an increase in business. They also sell wholesale to a few select locations.
“We really appreciate the community support. It’s a fun business to be in,” Viens said.
“Sometimes we will do a signature sundae. Our pumpkin ice cream is incredible,” he said. “We try to have fun with the new flavor profiles. We don’t choose fads.”
Cheesecake flavors are also popular and the top seller at the Rocky Hill location is cotton candy ice cream. CL NL RHL WL