By Diane Church
Staff Writer
SOUTHINGTON — After spending years running a video store, Patrick D'Agostino has started a new business venture, one that offers a sweet, creamy respite from the summer heat.
Pat's Main Street Ice Cream opened on June 18, offering 36 flavors of ice cream. The grand opening will take place in August.
"I always wanted to do this," said Patrick, who operates the shop with help from his wife Laurie and daughters Alexandria, 15 and Samantha, 9. "My friends always said I should open an ice cream shop. I talked about it for years."
The store is at 384 Main St., on the road that connects the center of Southington to the center of Plantsville.
"We're trying for a family atmosphere," said Laurie. "Southington is a big family town."
The store sells ice cream from three companies. Buck's is a Connecticut ice cream manufacturer, while Gifford's is a popular brand hailing from Maine. Ashby's is out of Michigan. The D'Agostinos discovered it while on vacation.
Flavors range from chocolate, which Patrick said is the most popular, to unusual ones such as Swamp, a tasty flavor from Buck's that features M&Ms.
Gifford's has some local flavors, including a creamy Wild Maine Blueberry and Lobster Tracks, a takeoff on Moose Tracks. Other odd flavors that will appeal mostly to kids are Play-Dough and Quicksand.
There are also plenty of the traditional varieties, including pistachio, mint chocolate chip and Patrick's favorite, Rocky Road.
"We didn't want to carry grocery store ice cream," Patrick said. "These are the best brands we could find. We did a taste test. It makes my day when people are going out the door and they turn around and say, 'Hey, this is delicious.'"
Ice cream is available in dishes and cones. Pat's also makes sundaes, shakes and Flavor Bursts, which is a soft serve with one of eight flavors added.
Patrick grew up in Southington, but he now lives in Wolcott. Their video store, which is still in operation, is also in Wolcott. His extended family still lives in Southington.
One reason Patrick likes selling ice cream is the temperature. He had originally planned to be a machinist and studied at Goodwin Tech.
"It was a hard, hot job," he said. "In the summer, the machine shop would be over 100 degrees by noon."
He still uses those skills. Patrick collects, restores and sells old pinball machines on the side. But managing the ice cream shop takes a lot of time.
"There's a lot to be done," he said. "We have to order ice cream, lids and spoons."
Business has been good so far, he added, and all 36 flavors have been selling. The kids are happy, too.
"Samantha and I have bragging rights because our dad has an ice cream shop," said Alexandria.
Patrick said that ice cream is an affordable treat.
"Going out for ice cream is a nice night out with the kids," said Patrick. "You spend a few dollars and get a nice little treat."
Pat's Main Street Ice Cream is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays it stays open until 10 p.m.
0 comments:
Post a Comment