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06/04/2019 04:14 PMEveryone is getting ready for summer and that includes local businesses. This season, Bishop’s Orchards Farm Market & Winery will open an ice cream service window at the main farm market building. Having recently received from site plan approval from the Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC), Bishop’s officials say construction for the service window is already underway and the hope is to start serving by the end of June.
On May 15, co-owner and co-CEO Keith Bishop and Marketing Director Sarah Bishop Dellaventura came before PZC to request site plan approval for “interior modifications to add window service for ice cream and to convert a parking area into a patio.”
At the PZC meeting, Bishop said the plan is to put the service window at the southwest corner of the farm market building—the corner nearest to Route 1. He said the parking spaces directly adjacent to that space would be removed and placed elsewhere on the property to make room for the patio.
“On the existing wall of the porch going into the interior building, we would have three service windows that would serve ice cream and beverages out the window to the public that could then be enjoyed on the patio or taken out to the lawn or wherever else,” he said. “That is the quick synopsis of the plan.”
Bishop said the plan is to also have a 19-inch retaining wall around the patio to clearly distinguish and serve as a safety barrier between the parking lot and the seating area. Some members of PZC asked Bishop if he planned to use plantings as part of the barrier for aesthetic reasons. Bishop said that is not part of the plan as of now.
“Maybe down the road you could consider that, but obviously you know what is best for your business,” said PZC Chair Philip Johnson.
PZC unanimously approved the site plan. With approval in hand, Dellaventura said construction on the patio and the service windows is now already underway.
“Obviously the summer season for ice cream has already started, but we will be open by the end of June,” she said. “I am hoping for earlier than that, but it will definitely be by the end of June.”
Dellaventura said the farm has been toying with the idea of opening an ice cream service window for years.
“A lot of other farms in New England that we talk to all have creameries on site and an ice cream window or stand that they do and its something that has been extremely popular for them,” she said. “After seeing other farm markets do this over the years, we said, ‘OK, so how can we do this, how could we make this work?’”
She said one of the big decisions was deciding if ice cream should be sold through a service window or though something like a seasonal ice cream truck parked on the property.
“After all of the research, it made the most sense to do it as a part of the farm market because then we would be able to offer it all year round,” she said.
For those familiar with the interior of the farm market, the service windows will be installed near the cash registers where the customer service desk was once located. It will be a walk-up service window and customers can pay at the window. Dellaventura said the farm will likely start with selling Bishop’s ice cream, but could expand its offerings.
“It’s ice cream cones and cups, sundaes, and milkshakes,” she said. “We will be serving our own ice cream, but there is a chance that we will be serving some other brands of ice cream as well to suits other needs like vegan or dairy free so that we can appeal to everyone’s digestion and allergies and things like that.”