Arlington's Chilly Cow Is Closed, Abilyn's Frozen Bakery To Open

ARLINGTON, MA — Chilly Cow replaced JP Licks about a dozen years ago. Now Abilyn's Frozen Bakery is replacing Chilly Cow. But lest you lament the loss of what felt like a good thing, the owners are staying on - and so will much of the menu. But the shop is getting a makeover as the owners look at expanding their wholesale, and adding a new twist.

The Frozen Bakery should be open by early March, according to the owner;

"I have a lot of cool ideas. It's not getting rid of Chilly Cow it's really taking what Chilly Cow was and expanding it. It's exciting and stressful all at the same time," Owner Brian LaClair told Patch.

After years of thinking about and researching an idea he had about a frozen bakery he's ready to test it out.

"The concept that we're adding is totally unique," he said.

As for the name change? LaClair said that came about because there are so many cow-ice cream name plays out there. As he was changing up the concept he knew he wanted a magical name to reflect what he planned to do with the shop. He combined his daughters names and came up with Abilyn.

"It will just differentiate us. Otherwise we'd just be another cow ice cream in a long list of cows out there," he said.

For those worried about their favorite menu items getting the kibosh, he said, yes, he has plans to streamline the menu and, say, take the old fashioned ice cream sodas that no one ever buys any more off, but much of it will stay the same.

On January 30, the shop announced it was closing for a week (or two) for renovations. As of February 7, the windows were still covered in brown paper and a ladder was visible inside the shop. LaClair told Patch renovations were happening at a slower pace than expected, but he hoped to be open by early March.

"We're pushing to get things reopened as soon as possible," he said noting that when the new place does open again they plan to celebrate with a grand opening weekend. Look for tastings and fun activities, he said.

In the mean time he's waiting on two new bakery-style freezer cases to come in. Those will hold new frozen treats he plans to add to the menu. Treats, and individualized desserts like ice cream cupcakes and cookie sandwiches that he was inspired to include after getting so many requests from the wholesale side of his business.

"So this whole rebranding and everything is really tying in my retail business with wholesale business... It just made sense to rebrand to tie everything together," he said.

That and he's been itching to upgrade and refresh the business after more than a decade in the Arlington Center spot.

"Once people get back in here they'll see that it's the same, but cooler," he said. No pun intended.

(For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Arlington Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Photos by Jenna Fisher/Patch