Brewster Ice Cream Shop Marks Its First Summer In Business

BREWSTER, N.Y. -- Helado Gelato, named for the Spanish word, "helado," which means ice cream, is open for business in downtown Brewster.

Bob Dumont is the owner of Helado Gelato in Brewster.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

An ice cream sundae is shown at Helado Gelato in Brewster.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

Brewster business Helado Gelato opened in January.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

Helado Gelato in Brewster serves gelato and ice cream.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

Donna Christopher

07/18/2016 9:30 a.m.

But the product is Italian, said the shop's owner, Bob Dumont, known locally for chairing the Village of Brewster Film Festival held annually in September.

In addition, Dumont, whose wife, Stacy, is president, is involved with the Brewster Theater Company.

He opened his ice cream business in January.

Formerly a gift shop, Dumont's store at 162 Main St. has drawn a steady stream of customers, he told the Daily Voice recently.

Gelato is popular, and new flavors change weekly.

Apple pie and cherry vanilla are this week's specialties.

Though the shop's namesake is Spanish, the product is purely Italian ice cream, Dumont said in a Daily Voice interview. Gelato, he explained, is "all ice cream."

"We make all our flavors in our store every day, and new flavors come out each week," Dumont said.

"We wanted something totally different for this area and did not want just a soft-serve vanilla ice cream store, so we decided to do something we enjoy doing, making ice cream."

While gelato's popularity has drawn business to the store, Dumont admitted, "Getting people to come to Brewster is a bit of a challenge."

"But great ice cream and gelato flavors have certainly made people come," he said.

"Many customers are local to Brewster/Southeast, but we have had some really good marketing with our Facebook campaign and are reaching people far beyond the Brewster/Southeast borders.

Popular ice cream flavors include salted caramel, cake batter and Oreo caramel, which move quickly out the door," the owner said.

The shop offers 22 flavors in all.

Dumont is gearing up for the film festival set for Sept. 1-4.

It features domestic and foreign films shown in six different venues over the four-day event, said Dumont.

These include Ryder Farm (Southeast), Restoration Chapel (Cold Spring), Studio Around The Corner (Brewster), Arts on the Lake (Carmel), Empire Cinemas (Southeast), Bull and Barrel Brew Pub (southeast).

Click here for Village of Brewster Film Festival information.

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