Suffield’s newest ice cream shop, Hilltop Farm Store and Creamery, at 1616 Mapleton Ave is opening soon.
It’s managed by Jason and Crystal Siemienkowicz – pronounced Simin Kō´vich – who live in town with their two children.
Their offerings will include:
- Hard ice cream – chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint chip and coffee with a rotating selection of unique flavors, such as banana cream pie, peanut butter, Oreo, coconut and almond bar
- Soft serve ice cream – coming soon!
- Milkshakes, floats, sherbert coolers and sundaes
- Frozen desserts – sorbet, which contains no dairy and sherbet, which contains a little cream or milk
- Cones – wafer, sugar and waffle
They will be open:
– Tuesday – Sunday noon to 8:30 p.m.
The new sign off Mapleton Avenue advertises the Hilltop Farm ice cream shop, which can be seen at the right end of the immense barn. The barn is awaiting a fresh coat of paint.
A childhood dream becomes reality
Operating an ice cream store has been Crystal’s dream since she was a child. Her great aunt and uncle owned a drug store in Litchfield with an ice cream parlor.
“When I was six years old, my family visited the parlor one morning before it opened. My uncle picked me up, sat me on the counter and showed me how to make a float. Then he gave me a scoop of strawberry ice cream. Looking around the shop, I was in awe thinking I want to have a shop like this someday. That memory stuck with me so much that my first job was as a fountain worker at the Windsor Locks Friendly’s,” she recalls.
While Hilltop Farm Store and Creamery doesn’t have a sit-down counter, it does have a shady grove in front with picnic tables for customers to enjoy western views as they eat.
Jason spent months researching the ice cream shop business. “I studied operations, supply chain and inventory processes and conducted a local market analysis. That included asking family and friends for their opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of nearby ice cream shops,” he says. He also visited the North American headquarters of Carpigiani, an Italian ice cream equipment manufacturer, to learn recipes, machinery operation and best practices. “I was thoroughly immersed,” he remarks.
This was not the first ice cream shop at Hilltop
Jason and Crystal were surprised to learn that their ice cream shop isn’t the first at Hilltop Farm. In the early 1930’s, George Hendee, who built the farm, ran a small roadside restaurant specializing in Hilltop dairy products, including ice cream.
We wish the couple success
The Hilltop Farm Store and Creamery will be open Tuesday thru Sunday noon to 8:30 p.m.