HAMILTON, Ohio — A Hamilton ice cream shop was not Randy Young’s intention in 2024, but city leaders courted Aglamesis Bros.
Now his goal is for 116-year-old family business to also “become Hamiltonians.”
“We’re not here as visitors or guests,” he said. “We’re here to become a part of the city.”
Aglamesis Bros., which hadn’t opened a new ice cream parlor in 54 years, will cut the ribbon 3 p.m. Thursday to open the Hamilton parlor a day before the annual Operation Pumpkin festival in downtown Hamilton. The Aglamesis brand has locations on Cincinnati’s east side at 3046 Madison Road in Oakley and 9899 Montgomery Road in Montgomery, and the franchise opened a manufacturing facility for its chocolates.
Young said they believed a third parlor would eventually happen, but just not yet.
“This was not our intention this year, to be opening up a shop,” Young said. “But the wonderful people of the city of Hamilton approached us this spring and cajoled us to come up and visit this lovely city.”
It was in July when the news broke about the parlor’s opening, and the city had said the company’s commitment to quality and tradition “aligns perfectly with the revitalization taking place in the historic Main Street Business District.”
When Young and his daughter, Kristi Weissman, vice president of Aglamesis Bros., saw the facility at the corner of Main and D streets, which used to be the former Village Parlor ice cream shop, they knew they found their third shop. Now the company’s historic recipes can be found at Main and D streets in Hamilton’s urban core.
“We’re a family business and we really focus on giving you the best experience,” Weissman said. “We make an amazing product, not only on our ice cream but our candy line as well. We’re really giving you that nostalgic turn-of-the-century, the 19th century, ice cream parlor experience.”
Staffing the shop started with finding a manager that knew the community. Joey Lorance, who had worked a few establishments around town was their first hire.
“We are a family business and part of that is having that relationship with the community, knowing the customers coming in and knowing their favorites,” Weissman said. “And to really feel like we were making that impact in Hamilton, we wanted to make sure we had someone who knew Hamilton, knew what was going on in the city, was in the loop and find the right staff for us.”
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