By Suzanne Hodgson
Staff Writer

Teresa Andreoli knew she was on to something the first time she made a batch of chocolate.
An ice cream lover since childhood, Andreoli opened Arundel Ice Cream Shop Aug. 21. The shop is next to the Seafood Center on Route 1. The opening day featured pony rides and story time to bring more children and families to the area.
Inside the bright green walls of the new ice cream shop are stainless steal freezers filled with row after row of frozen concoctions in all different colors and flavors.
Andreoli said she will keep changing the flavors as the seasons change. For now, the freezers are filled with extreme pairings from children’s dreams including Chocolate Peanut Butter (chocolate ice cream with peanut butter chunks and swirls and cups), Peanut Butter and Jelly (raspberry ice cream with peanut butter cups), Congdon’s and Coffee (coffee ice cream with doughnuts from Congdon’s doughnut shop in Wells), a mint Oreo flavor (cherries and chocolate in vanilla ice cream) along with many others.
“When I was little my dad never allowed me to mush my ice cream,” Andreoli said. “He said it was because of the freezer cost, that he paid extra for freezer bills and when you mushed the ice cream you were throwing away money. Now, I can let customers mush all they want.”
While the ice cream may be so good because of Andreoli’s love of the food, she began making ice cream to help bring in a younger crowd to the Seafood Center.
“We have a lot of regulars, but I wanted to bring in a younger crowd,” she said. “I don’t expect people to come in and get a fish sandwich and ice cream because when I get ice cream, I don’t want fish. But I hoped we’d see some younger kids,” Andreoli said.
As Andreoli was developing flavor ideas she kept the younger crowd in mind, asking advice from parents, tattooed 20-somethings and her own children.
“They told me bubblegum flavoring and to make sure there was a visual display for all the ice cream. Color is important to kids,” Andreoli said.
Andreoli was a journalist married to a restaurant owner.But after two kids, she decided to help with the restaurant and spend more time with family. Then she began to read about how to make ice cream and flew to Florida on a Disney/ice cream-making workshop to learn the trade.
“I really thought writing was the only thing I could do well, and then I made my first batch of chocolate with the cocoa powder,” Andreoli said.
Now she experiments with different flavoring in the ice cream and different types of ingredients, all her own.
“I get to pick the chocolate chunks. I wanted to pick my own chunks and have control of what’s going into my ice cream,” Andreoli said.
With the ice cream shop in place behind the Seafood Center, Andreoli is moving on with her plan. With more than 100 customers at the opening day celebration, Andreoli hopes the family-oriented restaurant and ice cream shop will bring a community feel to the Route 1 area. “We’re thinking about maximizing the space out there (behind the center), my dream is to have landscaping and kids’ toys,” Andreoli said.
Behind the center is an empty lot that Andreoli hopes to turn into a green area for children and families to sit and play, with the possibility of adding an animal farm in the distant future.
Andreoli will continue building her own community center by offering more than 15 flavors. Saturday Andreoli will feature two cows, one calf and one milking cow, at the Arundel Ice Cream Center from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a milking demonstration.

Staff Writer Suzanne Hodgson can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.