©2020 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Andrea Harwood Palmer
A new ice cream parlor has opened up in Malta, adjacent to Finishing Touches Home Décor at 450 East High St. in Malta.
Doug Dockendorf developed the idea with Finishing Touches founder Shelly Walker.
“I had the idea of developing a shop with another retail space attached to it. I own part of Finishing Touches as well. Shelley Walker (owner of Finishing Touches Home Decor) and I own the property together, so we developed the idea that we would put two shops together on the same space,” said Dockendorf.
“We found a great old historic building. It used to be the old Town Hall. I redesigned the small section in the back of the property to make it what it is now,” said Dockendorf.
The ice cream parlor is located around the back of the property, near the patio. Customers can walk next to the adjacent park while eating their ice cream.
Dockendorf will have live music at the venue, and places to sit and relax.
“Right now we stream music through speakers. It’s a pleasant atmosphere, under all the trees and awnings. It’s a beautiful patio,” he said.
Soft serve and hard serve ice cream will be available, with Perry’s homemade ice cream on the menu.
Dockendorf owns four other businesses in the region: Priority Electrical, 1-888 Chuck-It, a house-flipping company, and part of Finishing Touches Home Décor.
The ice cream parlor opened in late June and had 400-500 visitors on Saturday and Sunday each, said Dockendorf. Five people were hired for the shop.
“We have some really cool things we’re going to do during the wintertime. We want to do some garden igloos, where folks can come in and enjoy ice cream all the way through the year, all the way to January,” he said.
“The property is remarkable. It’s a great use of an older building. It goes back to 1835. We changed the color, the hardscape of the property. We have some old photos of the property, and they’re just amazing,” said Dockendorf.
The shop is open from noon to 9 p.m., seven days a week.