Pulling Up at Peekskill's TreatStation

When temperatures hit record-breaking highs this month, Peekskill residents flocked to the top spot to get ice cream downtown: on South Division Street.

“With this heatwave, we are really the only ice cream parlor downtown, so we are staying really busy,” owner Tim Trewhella tells us. “We also have an original 1940s soda fountain, root beer floats and egg creams. We do it the way it used to be done.”

Indeed, delicious ice-cream and nostalgia-inspiring beverages are a big highlight for TreatStation, which also offers an impressive assortment of candy to satisfy any customer’s sweet tooth.  But there’s even more to Trewhella’s unique shop than the sweet treats. It’s the exciting reason the shop is called TreatStation.

 When you step inside the colorful space, you will get an eyeful as you take in the stools where you can sit down with a friend, the jars filled with tempting candy, the toys for sale on the shelves,  and even some old-fashioned arcade games you can play. But the main attraction is actually in the back of the entertaining ice cream parlor/candy shop. TreatStation boasts an impressive, 200-square foot operating train layout that features accessories from the 1940s and 1960s. And if you’re interested, Trewhella will happily run the trains for customers young and old.

 “Trains are a hobby of mine. They’re fun. But I much more enjoy seeing how kids enjoy them, ” he says. 

 Before TreatStation opened in 2005, a group of volunteers including Trewhella used to put on an annual toy train display in empty storefronts in the downtown area. “We had done that since 1996...We just thought it would be fun and encourage people to come downtown,” the business owner recalls. “But for various reasons, we weren’t able to continue doing that.”

 That’s when the former freelance journalist/stay-at-home dad dreamt up TreatStation. “We still had this large toy train display, so we wanted to just offer it all year round,” he says.   Bringing together trains and treats turned out to be a brilliant idea. “People really loved the store and they liked the idea of it,” Trewhella says. “It creates a lot of nostalgia and at the same time, really entertains young kids. It really appeals to both young and old.”

 TreatStation is located at 21 S. Division Street in Peekskill.