For Holliston Resident, Ice Cream Dream Coming True

The first call Tina Chemini made after being laid off from her corporate human resources job was to the headquarters of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream.

Chemini hoped to turn fond memories of the duo’s first ice cream parlor - housed in a converted gas station near the campus of Saint Michael's College in Burlington, VT - into the next chapter of her working life. Chemini was a college student in Burlington as the iconic ice cream venture was just getting off the ground in the late 1970s.

“I wanted to open a Ben & Jerry’s right in Holliston,” said Chemini. The demographics didn’t support such as store, however. “They said if I was in a Newton or Cambridge, maybe it would work.”

So Chemini had to go it alone. After several months of searching for the right spot and turning a former Liberty Tax office into a laid-back ice cream parlor, she opened the doors to T.C. Scoops on Aug. 3 in Medway (100 Main St., Medway Shopping Center).

Taking a break from scooping ice cream to help with a mid-afternoon rush, Chemini said the first week had been a good one. “People are learning that we’re here and there have been some busy times,” she said.

Chemini has a longstanding connection to ice cream, having dished out frozen yogurt while growing up on the South Shore. Her parlor serves Hershey’s ice cream, a brand that has positive connotations for her; it’s served at the ice cream shop near her favorite vacation spot in New Hampshire.

The shop has about 10 employees, mostly high school- or college-age residents of Medway or Holliston. She’s looking for some more help during the afternoon once school starts back up.

“It gets too busy for just one person at times,” she said.

In addition to ice cream, the parlor has a selection of baked goods and beverages on sale. Chemini also makes her own chocolates and will soon be offering those as well. She’s hoping non-ice cream items will help keep customers coming in long after the dog days of summer have faded into memory.

Right now, she’s at the shop from late morning until late at night most days. So far, she feels her unplanned career change has been a shift in the right direction.

“I really thought about what I would want to be doing with the rest of my working years and wanted to do something that I would find fulfilling and rewarding,” she said.

Word of mouth is providing most of the traffic so far; employees have been good about spreading the word. The store also has a Facebook page and, if all else fails, Chemini’s car parked along Route 109 festooned with balloons helps get the news out.

“The idea is for people to come and have a good experience," said Chemini.