Kimball Farm Expands in the ever-changing ice cream market.

Two new activities this year, and expanded food service to come as the grill shacks expands to a restaurant and moves from the former parking lot to the area where the olde sawmill arcade and restroom house located next to the bumper boats.

Kimball Farm added the Soaring Eagle Zipline and the Spinzone bumper cars this past Memorial Day, and ground will break for expanded utility service towards the batting cages.  There's a brick oven and some fryers that are in place, serving fried dough, pizza, corn dogs, kettle corn, Italian sausage, and perhaps a satellite ice cream stand that would hopefully cut the lines at the front.  From there, Kimball Farm plans to add a multi story olde sawmill in place of the current one and add a restaurant.  The restaurant will have everything the grill/seafood shack had, plus some more items, perhaps pizza and is planning to have that year round.  Hopefully, ice cream will be served there in the future, or at least frappes and soft serve ice cream, finally doing what they needed to do...expand the ice cream service to year-round rather then the old-fashioned April to Columbus Day theme.

Hopefully what comes in the building is maybe a smaller spin-zone bumper cars (contains 8 cars and is about a third of the space of the spinzone out near the batting cage, some pinball machines and classic arcade machines.  From there, they can develop winter activities, even selling Christmas trees during December.  Maybe in the fall, they would start haunt weekend during October.

This is the ever changing market of ice cream.  Seasonal stands may be projected to go extinct by 2030 or 2040 (Maybe except these seaside stands on boardwalks, beaches, water parks, and amusement parks) as the likes of Cold Stone Creamery and Ben and Jerry's are taking hold.  Dairy Queen is in the move towards closing down the braziers and opening up year-round grill and chill spots and strop mall stores that sell food.  Sonic also has ice cream that they serve year-round.  Jay Gee's ice cream opened up a Salem NH location and went from seasonal to year round.  It is a nice move that Kimball Farm decides to do another push for year-round by upgrading the grill shacks to restaurants, particularly in Westford and hopefully later on, Lancaster.


Now before I end this, here's what Kimball Farm should do:

Get rid of the tents.  For the past 16 years, they rented tents for use as an eating area, animal adventures, and private events.  Kimball Farm doesn't see that it costs a lot of money to install the tents in the spring and bring them down in the fall past Columbus day.  Not only that, these tents are unsightly and make this place unfinished.  They should put down pavillions for private events (and possibly an air-conditioned enclosure maybe for year-round private events), an animal house for animal adventures, and expand the patio from the side of the farmhouse to the two parking lots.
Pave the parking lots, at the batting cages and in front of the ice cream stand.  Seriously, you spent all the money on new stuff.  Yea we like new activities, but it's time to pave the parking lots.  Yea your rides, activitiy, and food prices are inflated, so invest the money on improving the parking lots.  Because of the lack of parking stripes, many "spaces" are half car widths, upsetting other people who want to park there.
Upgrade the ice cream making machine and make year-round ice cream.  Seasonal is good, only in the 20th century.  But in a 21st century world, it's just uneconomical to run the ice cream seasonally.   You have to pay lots of taxes and liability even in the winter, so if the ammonia part is outside and not weather tight, this is a problem since the expense is high and no revenue is put out of the machine, thanks of it being dormant in freezing weather.  That, and more places going year round, it will be eventually time when you are forced to go year round, simply because people just go to another ice cream place that's open year round, seeing themselves as a missed revenue for the winter.

Now on to the more minor things that Kimball Farm could do.  They should put trails in the wooded area between the mini golf area, private event area, and the batting cage area.  It's could be a nice, inexpensive addition, maybe put picnic tables for the snacks and ice cream so that I can enjoy my banana split out in the woods while taking a good walk in the trails at the forested area.

I also see them adding go-karts in the near future.  Perhaps put one behind the batting cages but also make it hilly and have overpasses.  Put a connecting trail from the back of Kimballs that connects to Nashoba ski area to the watershed trails perhaps Bobby's Ranch, to the Bruce Freeman's trail in Westford/Acton to encourage people to walk or bike to Kimball Farm.  Bike racks should also be installed next to the ice cream stand and batting cages.

This is it for news right now.

2015 Ice Cream Season came...and went...FAST

It just seems like Kimball Farm opened up yesterday...Man how time flew by.  From the spring opening rush (Was late for that and was the 4th customer in line to order my first banana split), to the final day on Columbus day when half the flavors were gone, now on a diet to lose all the weight gained by all the ice cream, it seems year after year has gone fast.  Anyways, Kimball Farms already closed for the season, all my ice cream for the off season, and Thanksgiving and the holidays are fast approaching.

Yup.  All Stocked up for the winter...  Bottom: Chocolate Peanutbutter, Peanut Butter Butterfinger

Anyways, long time no see.  WeAllScreamForIceCream is pretty much dead, last time posted was maybe last year in March on to Rota Springs.  Banana Splitsomania may have been dorment, but I just want to let you know that I'm alive!

Some news to show you, Bedford Farms opened up a 3rd location at 3rd Ave Burlington, there has been talks that Rota Springs may sell quarts of Chocolate, Vanilla, and Chocolate Chip during the winter, and some rumors that Gary's Ice Cream may close for good.

Perhaps if I have the will, I will post more reviews in the days to come.

Jim's Ice Cream Barn Closed for good after only 5 years, Future of Ice Cream.

Jay Gee's Ice Cream has seriously crushed Jim Solloway's hopeful of running a successful business up at Salem NH when they opened up a year-round ice cream stand up across the corner from where Jim's Ice Cream Barn has been going through.

But many ice cream stands across New England are endanger of shutting down, thanks to the fierce competition between Ben and Jerry's, Cold Stone Creamery, and Baskin Robins.

Other stands that could be closing in the next 5 to 10 years includes Uhlmans in Marlborough, Dairy Joy in Weston, and Kimball Farms in Westford, Lancaster, Carlisle, and Jaffery NH.

Kimball Farm has been around since 1939 and has expanded to 4 locations since 1989 shortly after Mike and Peter took over.  But signs are that the ice cream equipment there is getting old and out of date, not to mention that rumors of another ice cream parlor opening up at the now "mostly" empty Conant's Store in Littleton where the Littleton Sub Shoppe and Pub is.  Could it be another Jay Gee's (3rd location) or maybe a Ben and Jerry's but who knows, It could be that the Littleton Sub Shoppe maybe expanding again and calling that the Littleton Ice Cream Shoppe.

So how will the ice cream market in New England be transformed by 2030?  We are predicting that about 75 percent of the ice cream stands will be closed for good at that point, as many larger chain ice cream parlors and stands make it's debut.  Dairy Queen has taken notice of it and is now in the process of closing down seasonal braziers and updating them to year-round Grill and Chill fare, eventually fazing out the name Dairy Queen and renaming them as DQ Grill and Chill.  Furthermore, Dairy Queen plans to move more business to the malls and food centers at highway rest stops.  Will Kimball Farm move from the right now 4-location business to become competitive against Cold Stone Creamery and Baskin Robbins?  They may have to, since Jay Gee's is likely to open more stores and compete with Kimball Farms.  But who knows, within the next 15 years, Kimball Farms will likely have 10 to 15 locations open by then, or serve ice cream to restaurants around the area, perhaps opening a few locations at rest stops for travelers to enjoy.

But whatever we say, it is clear that the seasonal ice cream stands are clearly on life support and are being squeezed out by big-name ice cream places, just as Wal-mart is replacing the little downtown guys.

But let's be sure, the ice cream market in New England is here to stay!

Rota Springs Opens for Season, plus more of 2014.

After a disasterous year, we are in a beginning of a new year.  Well, it's a delayed start of spring, anyways, as it was frigid, but Rota Springs braved the cold and opened the place up.

 

As expected, the Indian Pudding was unavailable at the day, as the company that provided Rota Springs stopped making the base.  But the good news, Rota Springs successfully made their own base, so I may be back there in a week or two to have my indian pudding ice cream.

 

Usually, I have a cone with the Indian Pudding on the bottom, and something else or a specialty flavor on the top.  But because there was no special flavors, no indian pudding, and it was too cold for a cone, I instead ordered a brownie sundae with Maple Walnut and reverse chocolate chip.  It was so cold that despite the warm brownie in my hand, my hands were freezing as I ate this.

 

Kimball Farms opens their ice cream stand in about four weeks, with the activities shortly afterwards.  As far as Jim's Ice Cream Barn is concerned, it's on life support.  They are adding new ice cream dishes out there and recently added a balcony.  The problem they are facing today is the Jay Gee's ice cream place accross the street that has it's customers that know their place in Methuen, and that place, unlike Jim's place, is open year round.  Speaking of which, Moe's Deli restaurant has recently closed up shop there, and was replaced by a pizza parlor.  But unless Jim appeals to Jay Gee's ice cream customers, or even knocks on the doors and yells to the customers eating Jay Gee's ice cream, they may become like the deli place and lose business.  Oh, well, maybe go to Blake's ice cream north of here.

 

Speaking about Jay Gee's, it was so cold, that they delayed the Methuen's opening daye for a week.  Oh, well, but Salem is open anyways, and they have Jake's Wayback Burgers and other stuff around, unlike the Methuen location, which has nothing.

 

As for posting, I am doing less of it here, and more on Facebook.  But maybe I will post a few new ice cream places.  Likewise, I haven't been to Crescent Dairy or Bliss Bros. Ice Cream, but I know that Bliss Bros is the one supplying Great Brook Farms.  Hey, if Great Brook Farms can't sell ice cream, I go to Bliss, because it's the same ice cream.  It's like, if they close Mad Willies or The Ice Cream Lady at Douglass, I go to Richardson's.

Season 2014 Preview...

[[IT HAS BEEN COMFIRMED: AS OF FEBRUARY 14TH, JIM'S ICE CREAM BARN HAS CLOSED FOR GOOD AS JIM SOLLOWAY HAS SOLD IT'S BUILDING TO THE HOCKEY COMPANY]]


Long Time No See.  Ice Cream winds down, Rota Springs extends their season to Thanksgiving, Kimball Farms may close Labor Day next year, Signs that Rota Springs may do year round service, and more ice cream stands to open, and talks of Jim's Ice Cream Barn to have it's final season next year before closing permanently.

As Sad as Kimball Farm closed this ice cream down so early this year, there are now rumors that Kimball Farm may not want to go much after Labor Day weekend.  That means no more Indian Pudding from Kimball Farm, and may only have a chance to have a serving or two of apple crisp, as opposed for aiming for 10 apple crisps per fall season.  This shortens the season, and puts an opposite that many people want to lengthen the season.

Rota Springs are doing the opposite that Kimball Farm has been doing...Extending the season till Thanksgiving.  That does about right for an average seasonal ice cream stand.

Bedford Farms, Richardsons, and Jay Gee's (Salem only) remains a year round service.

Now, here's the kicker.  There may be words that Jim's Ice Cream Barn may be closing for good after the next season.  Words may come out, that the reason behind the potential closure of that place may be that Jay Gee's Ice Cream may be blame for the reason.

As it appears, Jay Gee's is clearly visible from this place, which is across the street.  But more people are checking out this place, since Jay Gee's is a more recognizable place, due to it's original fans from the Methuen location.
Of course, sometimes, more recognizable ice cream stands opening up in a location may bury another nearby ice cream stand to the back burner for ice cream fans out there.  But season length and more can also matter, since if there's enough demand on that area and they go year round, this can put a nearby seasonal place out of business.

But also, if Kimball Farms is indeed shortening the season next year to Labor Day, they are just killing themselves out of business.

Banana Splitsomania Quickies 2

Another round of a few ice cream spots lately that I just go through.  Let's just spit out a few more.

SPRUCE POND CREAMERY: Franklin
Open Year Round, it's actually a Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor in one.  It's got about 20 to 30 flavors of ice cream, open year round (Ohhh, are you reading this, Kimballs)?, and even features some fall-like flavors that are also actually served year round.  How about Apple Cream Pie, kind of like Rota Spring's Apple Pie and Indian Pudding.  Now here's something striking: This is a SMALL brownie sundae.  A Large one is three scoops.  That's another excuse for Kimball.  Why do Kimball Farm restrict you with one flavor despite putting three flavors.  Oh well, but in a growing trend of ice cream stands that are opening year round, I do believe that it can have a market.  Oh, and they did a nice paint job making the columns and the parking space stoppers different colors.

FRESHENS: Cambridgeside Galleria Mall, Cambridge
Located at the Duplex Kiosk, this is like an ice cream-yogurt combo place.  About 14 flavors of ice cream, some frozen yogurt, and smoothies.  Generally they sell cups and cones, and it's about it.  A run-of-the-mill mall ice cream kiosk.

THE AMAZON BAR: Natick Mall, Natick.
It's an indoor ice cream stand with about 16 flavors of ice cream, smoothies, and more.  It's got like a tropical Caribbean-type look to the stand.  Serves Banana Splits as well as some other sundaes.

SUNSHINE FARM: Sherborn, MA
It's an Ice Cream/Farm at Sherborn, Massachusetts, where they sell Bliss Bros. Dairy ice cream, plus fruit picking.  The Portions are strikingly actually like 4 to 8 ounces like they serve you a serving of ice cream in a world when ice cream stands serve you big portions.  They are open May through October, which actually they start later in the season and the hours are short..  However, they DO serve strawberry shortcakes there, which are actually better then these served at the Strawberry Festival at Westford.

MEOLA'S WAYSIDE ICE CREAM: Sterling, MA
Located on route 12, this place has 60 flavors of ice cream.  Now it claims to say: "HOMEMADE", but as I notice, it's like a combination of different ice cream places like Richardson's and Bliss Bros Dairy.  In other words, just another run of the mill stand selling Richardson's in the form of banana splits, brownie sundaes and cones.

FROYO SHOP opened down the street from Kimballs.

In a latest string of froyo shops, a new shop, called Sweet Kiwi has opened up down the road from Kimball Farms.  I wander what the reaction Peter Kimball has.  Jay Gee's also demounced the froyo shops when they opened up around that area.

Maybe Kimball Farms could go self serve and maybe try a year-round something.  But yea.  You just can't go to Kimballs from exit 32 without passing up a froyo shop now.

 

[UPDATE] PHOTOS OF SWEET KIWI