Historic Farm Opening New Ice Cream Shop In West Hartford

WEST HARTFORD, CT — The owners of the popular Arethusa Farm in Litchfield are bringing some of their famous ice cream, and more, to West Hartford with the opening of their third retail store. Owners George Malkemus and Anthony Yurgaitis are planning on opening a dairy store and cafe “very soon” in the former Toy Chest location at 975 Farmington Ave. in West Hartford Center, We-Ha.com reports. Arethusa Farm also has retail store locations in Bantam, 822 Bantam Rd., and New Haven, 1020 Chapel St.

With its dairy plant in Bantam, Arethusa is known for creating “milk like it used to taste” and “ice cream like it used to taste.” Malkemus and Yurgaitis bought the historic Arethusa Farm in 1999. The farm, first established by the Webster family in 1868, had fallen into disrepair over the years and was slated for development. Malkemus and Yurgaitis say they didn’t know how they would use the farm, but “couldn’t bear the thought” of Litchfield losing that open space, according to the Arethusa Farm website. The owners say that since that “fateful day it seems each day has been a new beginning.”

They have since built a small dairy plant in the historic Bantam firehouse, opened an award-winning restaurant — Arethusa al tavolo in Bantam — a bakery “a mano” in Bantam, and are now expanding with the store in West Hartford.

Arethusa says there is “perhaps no tastier melding of art and science than Arethusa ice cream,” according to the website. “With our fresh milk and cream at hand, our dairy plant team crafts unique custom mixes for each flavor, blending careful recipe development with good, old-fashioned taste testing. 16% butterfat may earn you the title ‘super premium,’ but only hand-crafted care and attention to detail can get you Arethusa’s ‘ice cream like it used to taste.’”

If you can't make it to one of the retail stores, Arethusa ice cream is also available at its online store here. For more information on the Arethusa Farm, visit its website here.

For more on the opening of the new West Hartford location, visit We-Ha.com here.