New Palmer Square Ice Cream Shop Will Provide Quality Without Frills

Matthew Hersh

What is the perfect accompaniment to browsing downtown on a warm (or even not-so-warm) day? Well, ice cream, of course.

During sultry summer evenings, it's almost a rite of passage for some people to grab an ice cream cone or cool beverage and relax on the Palmer Square green and surrender to the heat. But even in the winter, ice cream-counter queues can be viewed.

Beginning in early spring, there will be another ice cream option in Palmer Square, not far from the spectre of a once-beloved parlor.

Artisan Ice Cream and Good Ingredients Bakery will open at 35 Palmer Square West, providing customers classic ice cream flavors and assortments of baked goods that use organic and hormone-free ingredients, mostly from local farms.

Artisan will also serve classic favorites such as cupcakes and chocolate cream pies.

"Our ice cream is kind of a hybrid between classic Italian gelato and European ice cream," said co-proprietor Gabrielle Carbone. "It's our own ice cream."

Ms. Carbone and husband and co-proprietor, Matthew Errico, are former long-time employees of Small World Coffee on Witherspoon Street. The couple met at The College of New Jersey at a time when Mr. Errico was general manager of the coffee shop.

"He was a long-time manager there and knew all aspects of the business," Ms. Carbone said. "Then I came on about four years ago as the kitchen and food-side manager," she added, emphasizing their expertise in the food-service industry.

Ms. Carbone also holds a pastry degree from the French Culinary Institute in New York City.

The couple scooped into their interest casually.

"Years ago, we got a home [ice cream] unit, and instead of being the kind of people who put it away in the closet, we used it every single day," Ms. Carbone said. "We just kept making ice cream, and I feel that I really mastered it before I ever went to school for it," she added.

Purchasing products at Artisan will assist area farms, Ms. Carbone said, listing several area farms, including Coventry Farm on the Great Road, as vendors.

She also stressed the hormone-free aspects of their products, and that the ice creams and baked goods would be "organic when possible."

"[Buying] local eggs, fruit, nuts, [is the most] we can do to keep the business in town where everyone lives and supports the community," she said.

The new ice cream parlor will also help one local business in particular, namely Small World Coffee, as its coffee will be served.

Their departure from that downtown institution was completely amicable, however, as the couple felt the strong, European-style of Small World coffees would complement their ice cream.

The couple discovered that their love for ice cream could lead to a business endeavour on their honeymoon in Italy where the couple discovered gelato, hence leading to the natural hybrid that is their product.

"I only say hybrid because there are a few European styles that are a little bit richer than Italian gelato," she said, barely masking her excitement for the entrepreneurial endeavour.

The entrepreneurial spirit has always been prevalent in Princeton, and this is no exception. David Newton of Palmer Square Management said that businesses like these are what make Princeton unique.

"[This business] takes a young couple who basically made their name in this town and allows us to help them formulate their business. I think the marriage between their concepts and our property will truly be a great one."

Mr. Newton added that Artisan Ice Cream is one of the "best things that's happened in Palmer Square in a long time."