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Business & Tech

Ice Cream with Old-Time Flair in Modern Times

Tates offers up great treats, craft classes and local flavor the old-fashioned way while using Facebook to connect with customers.

If you’ve ever stopped in at , 25 S. Ashland Ave., you know that it’s not just an ice cream shop.

“I don’t know if people realize that all our ice cream is handmade on the premises,” said Maria Marciniec, who purchased the shop in June 2010. On a recent visit, she let me watch her make a batch. Her recipes are in a notebook that has obviously been thumbed through many times. The contents of the book are well-guarded secrets; only Marciniec sees the recipes. Every week a different flavor is featured. This week, stop on by for a scoop of chocolate malted milk.

Marciniec has gone above and beyond to feature more than just ice cream. Every day she offers craft classes at 1 and 3:30 p.m. Kids can come in for a scoop of ice cream and create the craft of the day. The schedule for May includes: bug boxes, busy bags, Catch the Butterfly, bird houses, wind catcher, and Fizzie Fun. Fizzies are being featured in a craft because Tates is the Fizzies featured store of the month.

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“We also have the golf tee game and the countdown game for kids and families to play while they are here. It’s become so popular, I’m going to have to purchase a few more sets,” Marciniec said.

Plans are in the works to expand to include teens with scavenger hunts. “We have so many great teens in our town who don’t have enough places to go,  so they just hang out. I want them to have an activity to do in addition to having ice cream,” Marciniec said.

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Another thing that really impressed me about Tates is how Marciniec has used Facebook to get word out to her customers and include them in her pictures. Whenever a new baby comes to the store for the first time, Marciniec gets her camera out and takes a picture to upload to Facebook. She calls them ‘Tates Babies."

When you walk into Tates, it feels like walking into an old friend’s house. From the first moment you talk to Marciniec you feel at ease like catching up with a friend. Many of her customers are regulars who bring their kids in for crafts.

In addition to the crafts, Tates offers large groups and birthday parties, too. It’s a friendly environment with great offerings. Dairy-free slushies have been added to the menu for those who cannot have dairy products. Stop in and say hello to Marciniec. And, why not become a friend of Tates on Facebook, too?

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