Spring normally signals that it’s time for Heather and Jason Lowery to reopen their seasonal ice cream parlor in downtown Hopkinsville.
This year, with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus and state restrictions on restaurants, they weren’t sure if it was feasible.
But a creative solution made it possible for them to begin serving again this week at Afternoon Delight Ice Cream Parlor.
They installed a small sliding window near the entrance so customers don’t have to step into the small parlor on East Ninth Street. Everyone can order from outside and receive their ice cream from employees, who remain inside and wear masks and gloves.
“Technically, we could have been open curbside, but it presented a challenge going in and out of the door carrying ice cream, so this is going to work,” Heather Lowery said Friday. “(It’s) our new normal, as I like to say.”
Afternoon Delight was established in August 2017. It is next door to the Pennyroyal Area Museum and behind the tattoo shop, Infinite Ink, that the Lowerys also own.
Hours are noon to 8 p.m. every day except Sunday and Wednesday. Parking is available adjacent to the building; however, the outdoor deck is temporarily closed for seating.
Afternoon Delight serves a Kentucky Proud product, Bernoulli Small Batch Ice Cream. It is made in Louisville. The name of the ice cream refers to the effect of airflow over the wings of an aircraft and how it generates lift. The couple who started the small-batch company sold an air plane to help finance the venture, according to the Bernoulli website.
Flavors include Tahitian vanilla, strawberry, Goldilocks chocolate, butter pecan, cappuccino crunch, banana pudding, blueberry muffin, blue cotton candy, coconut almond, chocolate fudge brownie and cookies and cream. The parlor serves scoops, milk shakes and sundaes.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
