Capital Ice Cream: Sweet Dreams Are Made of These

8/9/2020 2 Comments

Capital Ice Cream: Sweet Dreams Are Made of These

By Kerry Kincy

Yes, it’s Capital with an “a” and no, it’s not a spelling error (for all our "Grammarly grammars" out there…LOL). Even though Capital Ice Cream is located on Capitol Avenue and is just two blocks from the state Capitol Building, the owners envisioned opening a place that was reflective of the beauty, positivity and diversity of the people of the capital of Connecticut—Hartford. That said, they take great pride on being affectionately referred to as the “The Happy Place in Hartford”. Chantell Kelly, who co-owns this sweet little magical place with her husband Shane, says she gets asked that question about the spelling a lot. According to Kelly, it was intentional—because when you dream you’re supposed to dream big! We hope to expand throughout the city of Hartford and beyond!

Kelly and her husband are Hartford residents. They saw a need in their community and decided to fill it.

As a Kindergarten teacher, Kelly’s students would always share stories of going to far away places to have ice cream. As a parent, she would also take her own children beyond city lines into West Hartford and other towns for ice cream. Always aspiring to open a community business, she and her husband thought how nice it would be to open an ice cream shop that local children and families could enjoy and be proud of right in their own neighborhood.

Voila! Dreams can come true if you only just believe.

She believes her little shop, with more time and resources, can be recreated in many towns across the state.

On an otherwise invisible strip just beyond the Bushnell Performing Arts Center and before the once famous Capitol Records—another hidden gem that for years stored and sold albums that would delight only the serious of vinyl collectors—this jewel is worth “the dig.” I mean, what’s more exciting than finding a hidden gem? Capital Ice Cream is definitely a treasure—glimmering and sparkling with happiness.

“I love that little brown girls and boys come inside and see someone that looks like them, that I can be a role model...It feels good being able to nourish their ideas of self and help them to see in real time, that they too can achieve anything they put their heart into.”

As soon as I walked up to the building I was taken back to my childhood when the biggest problems in the world were what flavor of ice cream to choose. Although only about 250 square feet of frontage and maybe 250 square feet more inside, the rainbow of colors all over the shop is a feast in and of itself for the eyes. Handmade tulle cones stacked high upon each other in the window complement and offer a preview of what lies ahead and colorful umbrellas and metal stools circle the outdoor tables.

I learned that Kelly enlisted the help of local artists and nearby University of Hartford art students to create the detailed menu artwork on the walls. Capital Ice Cream’s staff only adds to the brightness that emanates from this tiny shop.

The sign on the door instructed that only three customers were allowed inside at a time. However, I think even if current times didn’t require six feet of space, any more than three feet would not provide the space needed to peruse the choices that the colorful menu just above eye level displayed. I was thrilled to be able to take it all in slowly. Just being inside Capital Ice Cream is its own enchanting experience.

As I scanned the menu, my eyes settled in and focused on the Kindness Cones. This gentle reminder in selflessness encapsulates exactly what Kelly’s intentions are and why she chose this particular location for her shop. Customers are invited to purchase a kindness cone at a discounted rate and leave a handwritten note on a paper cut out to “pay it forward.”

“So often children from the neighborhood stop and peek into the shop, sometimes just wanting to say hello, simply curious, and sometimes humbly ask for a cup of water,” shared Kelly. “The cones are for these children and families that come, sometimes ordering two cones for a family of five to share.”

We can all appreciate that not many families have extra income to purchase an ice cream cone. “Pay it forward” kindness spreads and is as delicious as the selection of Capital Ice Cream’s toppings. Of course, a Kindness Cone was included in my order and honestly, made my cone taste even better.

When creating her business model and wanting to offer top quality products, she realized the price point might fall outside the income levels of some families in the neighborhood, and rather than sacrifice quality and continue to maintain a successful business, this was a way to make her amazing ice cream accessible and available to everyone.

For those of us who cannot handle the speed at which this amazing “real” ice cream demands on a hot summer day, the cup and spoon “just in case” was a smart idea. I realized I couldn’t lick and hold another cone—and wear my mask simultaneously—so I quickly rushed outside to hand over my friend’s cone and sit down.

As I enjoyed my sweet treat, I watched as a little boy, maybe all of three years old, held tightly onto his cone as he and his dad were exiting. His eyes were filled with anticipation as he waited patiently to remove his mask to taste. I felt it deep in my heart: this new normal is not feeling normal at all.

Thankfully, Kelly and her sweet shop are helping create a place of comfort and inspiration despite these challenging times.

“I love that little brown girls and boys come inside and see someone that looks like them, that I can be a role model,” she said. “Both children and adults are surprised to learn that a Black woman owns this sweet little place. It feels good being able to nourish their ideas of self and help them to see in real time, that they too can achieve anything they put their heart into.”

Capital Ice Cream
389 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 06016
860.906.1308
www.capitalicecream.com

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Author

Kerry Kincy is an artist, collaborating with private, state and non profit organizations throughout CT, teaching her expressive arts residency, Telling Voices, to children and adults in under-served and often invisible populations in the community, schools and in residential treatment facilities. Kerry is a core faculty member with the Shared Abilities Dance Ensemble, where dancers with and without physical disabilities work in partnership to create performances.

Kerry produces Artists for World Peace’s annual Dance for Peace, which began in 2013 as a way of featuring diverse professional and cultural dancers and dance companies to perform with the International Peace Belt, which has been worn by artists all over the world.

Her work with the Judy Dworin Performance Project, Inc., Moving Matters! afforded her the opportunity to teach in Dreamings, What I Want to Say, and What I Want to Tell You, the Mom’s and Kid’s Project, at York Women’s Prison that focused on issues pertaining to the women behind the razor wire. She performed in the professional version of Dreaming that was presented to the public at the Charter Oak Cultural Center.

Kerry is a proud mother of two daughters, Zoë and Frankie Blù. She graduated from Trinity College with a self-designed degree in Learning, Movement, and Social Development. She continued to build her craft studying Expressive and Creative Art Therapies at Salve Regina, The New School and Movement Therapy at Antioch University. She completed her Masters in Community Psychology at the University of New Haven.

PHOTOGRAPHER

Seshu Badrinath has trained with the world's best photographers and has photographed hundreds of people. He kickstarted Connecticut Headshots in 2009 using a simple Twitter campaign. Today, he serves business executives, actors, and physicians who are serious about their careers and breaking away from the crowd. He lives in Avon, Connecticut with his wife and two wonderful boys.

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