The Ice Creamsmith was opened in the Dorchester Lower Mills neighborhood of Boston in June, 1976, the result of two neighbors being unemployed. David Mabel, with a degree in Public Relations, and his Dorchester neighbor, a Sociology major, saw an ad in the paper for the equipment and "know-how" to open a homemade ice cream store, and decided to take a chance.
David and his partner built and opened the small store in Lower Mills and, with part-time help from their wives, began making their ice cream in the front window in an old-fashioned White Mountain ice cream freezer, and serving it to customers. The partner left after a short time, so David and Robyn have been running the well known ice cream parlor ever since.
The Mabels soon had to replace most of the old equipment, and changed to an Emery Thompson ice cream freezer after three years of lugging ice and salt. There was a second location in the Fields Corner section of Dorchester in the mid-l980’s, but the original location has kept going strong for all these years. The Mabels close the store for the winter, from Thanksgiving to March 1st, for much needed "rest and repairs."
Employees have come mainly from the Dorchester and neighboring Milton area, with most working for many years, and having siblings join or follow them in the job. David and Robyn work along with them, scooping ice cream and training and supervising their help.
The customers, on the other hand, often come from further afield, especially after hearing word-of-mouth, or reading one of the writeups the store has gotten in ice cream books and newspapers, such as the Boston Globe Calendar section choosing The Ice Creamsmith’s frozen pudding ice cream as a Hit of the Week. While waiting to be served, or eating their ice cream, they can read the many ice cream-related cartoons and articles that adorn the walls.
The Ice Creamsmith does mostly take-out business, with seating for ten. They have 13 flavors of 14% butterfat ice cream at a time, with two or three special flavors-of-the-month, plus frozen yogurt and sorbet. Special flavors often have a seasonal tie-in, such as Baileys Irish Cream in March; fruit flavors like Peach, Blueberry and Coconut-Pineapple in the summer; and Pumpkin, Egg Nog and Apple ‘n Spice in the fall.
They also have about 13 "mixin’s" that can be added to the ice cream. A sign in the shop boasts of having over 2,000 flavors at any time, based on the number of combinations that can be created! They also make ice cream cakes, with David the decorator, as well as ice cream pies and pizzas.
Because of the "mixin’s," the Mabels don’t make many complex or exotic flavors, or use cute or mysterious names for their ice cream. They simply try to provide their neighborhood with delicious, high-quality homemade ice cream at reasonable prices. They don’t claim to have the best ice cream in the world, or even in Boston, but prefer to let their customers be the judges. So far, customers old and new continue to call The Ice Creamsmith their favorite!
To contact us:
The Ice Creamsmith
2295 Dorchester Avenue
Dorchester Lower Mills, MA 02124
617-296-8567
contact@theicecreamsmith.com
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Store hours:
- Open daily:
- Noon - 10 PM
- March 1st - Thanksgiving
- Special hours:
- Halloween: Noon - 5PM
- Thanksgiving: 11 AM - 2 PM
If you're interested in working for us, ask.