No need to scream for ice cream—we couldn’t be happier to learn that Atwater’s has moved into the ice-cream making business.
Owner Ned Atwater tells us that even before opening his first cafe 15 years back, he’d always dreamed of making his own dairy products including ice cream, yogurt, and cheese. “I always wanted a component of our business to be a creamery,” Atwater tells us, “but I never had the time or space.”
Now he has both.
In January, Atwater consolidated the kitchens of his five cafes, and purchased a building on Washington Boulevard in the southwestern section of the city. Soups, salads, and breads, and from-scratch ice cream are made out of a central location (aka “Atwater’s Big Kitchen). “We’re doing ice cream first because it’s the most straightforward,” Atwater says.
So whether you want a hand-packed pint of salted caramel swirl, a cone of chocolate macaroon, or a sea-salt brownie milkshake, head to the Canton or Belvedere Square locations. (The other locations might carry ice cream down the line.)
And as you get in your licks in, know that in keeping with his commitment to sourcing locally, the eggs comes from Sparks-based Springfield Farm, and the milk and cream come from Tricking Springs Farm in nearby Chambersburg, PA.
“I really hate it when people make a list of good foods and bad foods,” says Atwater. “All food is good. You just have to be careful how much of it you eat. Our mission is to do healthy food that’s properly prepared and not modified.” Move over snowballs.