Local ice cream institution, the Short Lane Ice Cream Company, will be celebrating 25 years of making Gloucester a little sweeter.

Owners Toni and Barry Childress bought the store from Kim Williams in 2017.

Williams was the one to teach the Childresses how to make ice cream in a two-week training course.

The building on Route 17 was built in 1937. It originally opened as a general merchandise store, before being sold and turned into a post office in 1939.

After the Childresses bought Short Lane, the couple focused on the overall feel they wanted the store to have. “We went to every flea market and antique store and bought everything dairy we could find—and I think five or six years ago my girls were making fun of me because I had an Etsy account,” Barry said.

And, based on the feedback from their customers, the couple was successful in bringing their vision to life. “A guy came in the other day and said: ‘I come here because this is where time stands still’,” said Barry.

“People will come in all the time—and I love this, they’ll tell their childhood story of either when they went through ice cream flavors or what was popular back then as a kid,” said Toni. “And just the happy memories of ice cream.”

People from out of state have even made Short Lane a road-trip must. “We have people that come here regularly, and have been coming here regularly, that are from Maryland and on their way to the Outer Banks, or vice versa,” said Toni.
People who have been coming to the shop since they were kids now bring their own children. One of the store’s former employees used to visit Short Lane with her dad, she explained. “Now she has a little boy of her own and she brings him here—I mean, it’s just cool.”

“We’ve got a great crew,” said Barry. “We’re lucky because when we put out that we’re hiring, we get just a ton of great young people applying.”

In the summer, the couple has approximately 17 employees, some of whom drive all the way from Mathews. “We’re like a little family here, we try to take care of them as much as we can—they’re great kids,” said Barry.

“It’s fun—it’s sad, too,” Toni added. “They work for us for a couple years and then they graduate and leave us, but it’s so much fun to see them grow and then come back as adults.”

Barry attributed the store’s success, even in the colder months of the year, to something Toni always advised: consistency. “If we stay open, they’ll know we’re open—and it paid off,” he said. “Walmart doesn’t take their ice cream off the shelves in the winter, so why should we close?”

The couple also rent the upstairs for events like parties and meetings and have even hosted a paint night. They also have a catering service for events like retirement parties, car shows, and even weddings.

“I love catering weddings because we have the bride and groom come in and taste flavors and tell me what they like,” Toni said.

“And we’ve created flavors specifically for the bride and groom. We had two workers that actually ended up engaged and getting married, so they came in and actually helped me make the ice cream.”

The couple’s son, Corey, runs the back, churning the ice cream, and helping close whenever needed. Their granddaughter, Belle, also works at the shop, managing, creating schedules, answering questions, helping to train, and also filling in whenever needed.

As the summer heat descends on Gloucester, customers can expect to see a packed Short Lane, and fun new flavors on the board as holidays like Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July approach.

With flavors ranging from classics like rum raisin and butter brickle, to unique hand-designed flavors like Chocolate Fire and Honey Lavender, and everything in between, Short Lane has something for everyone.