The “hard opening” took place at half past noon, but normal hours are every day but Monday, noon to 9:00. The new creamery ice cream sales shop at Hilltop Farm had been adapted from the original creamery where the milk from George Hendee’s Guernseys and, later, Charlie Stroh’s Holsteins had been stored between deliveries. Now the spot at the south corner of the giant barn has become a popular feature of the farm, gaining customers as the word spread after the “soft opening” early this summer. So when the “hard opening” took place on July 31, with speeches, the big flag hung high from the SFD ladder truck, and of course the ribbon-cutting, only a few of the crowd that gathered were surprised by the delicious assortment of ice cream flavors and toppings and related offerings. For quite a while after the mid-day “opening,” the picnic tables under giant shade trees there were full.
During her remarks prior to the Creamery ribbon-cutting, Representative Tami Zawistowski, looking toward the Siemienkowicz family, shows the big silver spoon she said she would use for sampling the ice cream. From the left: Jason Siemienkowicz, young Benjamin and Burke flanking their mother Crystal, Rep. Zawistowski, and First Selectman Colin Moll.
Hard-working volunteers of the Friends of the Farm at Hilltop have been working for years to prepare the barn for public use, and the creamery has been one of their goals. Fortunately, they became aware of Jason and Crystal Siemienkowicz, formerly in Enfield but now in Suffield, who were each seeking a major career change and hoping for an ice cream shop. It was a happy meeting. Jason and Crystal had invested time and effort to learn the business and helped plan the new shop. As proprietors, they are now planning its continuing expansion.
Suffield’s State Representative Tami Zawistowski is pictured with Hilltop Farm’s Mootilda. Tami brought along what she considered was an appropriate spoon for ice cream sampling at the Grand Opening of the Hilltop Farm Creamery on July 31. The spoon is an antique stuffing spoon.
The ribbon-cutting took place at about 12:30, but the standard hours of the shop are noon to 9:00 p.m., every day but Monday. The creamery has a good view to the west, and the sunset is often beautiful.