SEYMOUR – The Big Dipper, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor based in Prospect for 40 years, is scheduled to open a second location at 114 S. Main St., in the historic, former Whittemore Tavern.
Business owner Harry Rowe said he’s shooting for a May 2 opening.
“We love the history of the building and are just doing a little sprucing up,” Rowe said. “And what’s better than bringing premium ice cream that my family has been making for 40 years to Seymour and the Valley?”
The building was home to Whittemore Ice Cream since 2004, first under former owners Dan and Ellen Moran, and then under Todd and Gina Haversat. The Haversats announced on Facebook last month that they were seeking a change in ownership.
Rowe said he’s known the Haversats for years. When he heard they were stepping aside, his friend and fellow business owner Adam Kielczewski encouraged him to branch out.
The Big Dipper sells premium, small-batch hard and soft ice cream, ice cream cakes and ice cream pies, all made on the premises at the Prospect store, Rowe said. He said he purchases farm-fresh milk each week from a fourth-generation family farm in Vermont.
Rowe has run The Big Dipper since 2006, following the passing of his father, Harry, who opened the Prospect shop in 1986. The biggest seller on the menu is the toasted almond ice cream, a recipe Rowe said his dad perfected back in the day.
“My dad loved the Good Humor toasted almond bar, and ours is just like it, but better,” Rowe said.
The menu in Seymour will look like the one in Prospect, Rowe said, including Dubai chocolate, flying saucers, ice cream sandwiches, vegan options, and to-go quarts and pints.
Rowe expects to hire about a dozen people for the Seymour store and be open seven days a week from May to December, likely from 2 to 8 p.m. Updates about the Seymour opening and hours can be followed along on Big Dipper’s Facebook page.
The history of the building dates back to the Revolutionary War, when it was used as a tavern. According to Historic Buildings of Connecticut, a band of British sympathizers met in the barroom in 1780 and planned the robbery of patriot Captain Ebenezer Dayton.Shortly after the Civil War, the building was turned into a two-story home, according to The Electronic Valley. The building also hosted the Days End bar, but later fell into bad shape until the Morans purchased and renovated the building in 2004.