Sweet sorrow: Ice cream shops shift gears amid pandemic

FALL RIVER — 2020 was supposed to be a year of celebration for Eskimo King owner Nancy Diemoz as she marked the 20th anniversary of owning the iconic soft serve ice cream shop.

Now “20 in 2020” is unfolding like a mystery. As warmer weather beckons, Diemoz is considering when and how she will open. It might be mid-May, but Diemoz said she’s worried people who have been clamoring for a cone of soft serve, or a just a trip to the ice cream shop, will all show up at the same time, causing a social distancing nightmarish crowd.

Unlike hard serve ice cream shops in the area, packing up soft serve in a quart to-go isn’t an option. Diemoz doesn’t even like selling the soft serve in cups, just in cones, and that’s the way her customers like it too, she said. So packing up ice cream to-go, the way Somerset Creamery and Gray’s Ice Cream have been doing amid coronavirus social distancing, isn’t an option she’s considering.

As a business right on the line of Rhode Island and Massachusetts in a well-traveled area of Swansea, Diemoz said she’s been taking her cues from Gov. Charlie Baker and Gov. Gina Raimondo. Praising both for their leadership, she said she doesn’t consider herself an “essential business” (though her customers have told her they disagree) so when the governors say it’s safe for people to start going out then that’s probably when she will open.

Diemoz said she has plenty of space in her parking lot to space out customers waiting in line and they plan to serve at a window on one side of the building and pickup on the opposite side. What she’s really trying to work out, is how her staff will work inside while also maintaining a distance from each other.

Somerset Creamery has already opened its two Somerset locations for the season, but only for pre-packed quarts and half-gallons of ice cream and bagged waffle cones to-go. The takeout window isn’t open and they’re not selling cones, cups, sundaes or frappes, essentially any of the items that take time for them to prepare as the customer waits. Owner Nate Berube said they are encouraging customers to order in advance to speed up the time they spend in the shop. As a cash-only business, he said they’ve adjusted their prices so there’s no exchange of coins, only bills (quarts are $10 and pints are $6).

The staff is all wearing masks and gloves and sanitizing after every customer. On their social media page they’re also asking customer to not hang around on the premises as they eat their ice cream. “We’re getting by – it hasn’t been great but I can’t complain,” said Berube.

In Tiverton, Gray’s Ice Cream is open and selling pints, quarts and half-gallons of ice cream and frappes. On the weekends, they’re open for a couple hours (noon to 4 p.m.) selling small cones to-go, wrapped in wax paper and bagged up, said manager Dawn Stockford.

Some other area favorites haven’t opened yet including The Ice Cream Barn in Swansea, Mr. Peepers in Somerset and Handy Hill Creamery in Westport. A spokesperson at Handy Hill Creamery said they typically open on Memorial Day and they’re waiting to see how things go over the next couple weeks. And a spokesperson at Mr. Peepers said they won’t commit to anything until they know it’s safe.