FARMINGTON – The Gifford’s ice cream stand on the corner of Front and Main Streets in Farmington will be opening on Friday, March 31, at noon.
In spite of a fire at the Skowhegan factory last month that damaged the equipment and infrastructure of the ice cream production area, the stands in Bangor, Waterville, Farmington, and Skowhegan will be opening up throughout the next month, the popular family-owned ice cream company announced on their Facebook page.
There is still a lot of work to do before Gifford’s can get back to making ice cream locally. To stock the ice cream stands, Gifford’s is temporarily partnering with a Florida-based ice cream company.
“As you can imagine, we had some interesting choices to make as stand season approached, and ultimately this was the one we felt most comfortable with,” Staci Gifford, Vice President of Gifford’s, said. “The one thing we knew was that we didn’t want to delay our openings – they’re an important part of the calendar for these communities, and we didn’t want to miss them – which is what would have happened if we waited for our production to be back up and running, or for our production partners to ship ice cream.
“We decided to make the most of it – and give our customers something special to enjoy. That meant finding a company that we trust that makes ice cream, and that would provide our loyal stand fans a unique experience; our fans won’t be able to find this ice cream at any other stand in Maine.”
Opening Dates:
Bangor – Friday, March 17, at noon.
Waterville – Friday, March 24, at noon.
Farmington – Friday, March 31, at noon.
Skowhegan – Friday, April 7, at noon.
The Auburn stand was closed earlier than expected in August of 2022, and the stand will not be reopening. That decision was made before the recent fire at the Skowhegan plant.
“While customers won’t be able to enjoy our flavors at our four family-owned stands, they will be able to enjoy 30 different flavors – and 17 of those flavors are similar to Gifford’s flavors but may have slightly different ingredients,” Staci Gifford continued. “For example we’ll have a Cotton Candy flavor that is loaded with colorful mini M&M’s and Toasted Coconut but the coconut flakes won’t have chocolate like Gifford’s flavor, but regular coconut flakes.”
For more information, visit the Gifford’s website or the Facebook page.
