Customers, family, friends and officials gathered in the small but vibrant Dave & Dave’s Ice Cream Shop on Howe Avenue Wednesday to cut a ribbon and officially welcome the business to Shelton.
The place has been open since April, but they recently expanded the menu. Samples of the shop’s recent additions, gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, were passed around as guests were also invited to sample from a selection of more than 20 ice cream flavors.
Before the official ribbon cutting, Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce President Bill Purcell and Mayor Mark Lauretti congratulated David Grant and his son David on their new venture and continued success in Shelton.
“We’re celebrating today more than the opening of a new ice cream store,” Purcell said. “We’re celebrating the spirit of entrepreneurship that thankfully is still alive and well despite all the challenges that we face.”
He said the ceremony also reflects the “spirit of excitement” about downtown revitalization and economic diversity, which Lauretti echoed in his remarks.
“In downtown over the next five years I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised and impressed about the economic opportunities that are going to take place here. I think you’re starting to witness it one at a time,” Lauretti said.
The mayor said traffic and full parking lots are “good problems to have.”
As for the ice cream shop’s business since it opened on April 14, David Grant Sr. said the weather is usually a good prediction of a day’s sales.
“I found out real quick that if it rains out, we don’t sell ice cream,” he said. “But I think the sunny days make up for the rainy days, you’ve got to look at sales more so on a monthly basis.”
To balance that challenge, Dave & Dave’s has recently added gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches to their menu.
Sandwich options, to name a few, include pulled pork with aged cheddar, a mac n cheese melt, and buffalo chicken with pepper jack and bleu cheese.
The pulled pork and buffalo chicken comes from Derby’s Smoke and Bones BBQ.
“We needed something else. It’s hard to make it on just ice cream,” David Grant Jr. said. “We wanted something that most people wouldn’t have downtown and that’s easy to do because we don’t have the space. We looked online for recipes and now we’ve got two presses going so it’s great.”
And for four-legged friends, Dave & Dave’s serves up a Doggie Bowl, which is made at the shop and consists of low fat vanilla yogurt with crushed biscuits mixed in and topped with a dog bone treat.
Dave & Dave’s is at 507 Howe Ave. The phone number is 203 – 924-2127.
Hours are Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday noon to 9 p.m.
Click here for the business’ Facebook page.
Grant recommends the pralines and cream or coconut flavors, and his son said he’s stuck on the salted caramel but also recommends strawberry cheesecake.
