Lulu’s Ice Cream Cafe
Hartford
April 15, 2024
When the weather finally gets nice in Connecticut, there’s one thing that comes to mind before breaking out the short shorts or planning the summer vacation, and that’s ice cream.
So when the temperature hit a balmy 74 degrees yesterday in the Capitol city, I decided to check out one of the ice cream parlors that have popped up around Hartford in recent years. I went to Lulu’s Ice Cream Cafe on Albany Avenue, located in a part of the city that I spent much of my youth in.
I already knew what flavor I wanted. I’m a simple man; if I liked it the first time, I’ll like it the 1,000th time. And I really like cookie dough and whipped cream.
I had my friend’s son with me, and he was a little more adventurous than I. He picked out a combination of raspberry sorbet and watermelon sherbet. My ice cream was smooth and creamy without being too milky. Most importantly, the ratio of cookie dough to chocolate chips favored the cookie dough. The ice cream is made fresh daily by a local vendor; I could definitely taste the difference that made in the quality.
As I was enjoying my tasty treat, I spoke to the eponymous Lulu over the phone. Her son, Marquese, was manning the store, having chosen to help out his mother during the busy season.
Although this was my first time at Lulu’s, the shop actually opened four years ago, right before the Covid-19 pandemic began. That year was a wash, so Lulu did another grand opening after the lockdowns ended.
“Business is progressing,” she said. “It’s a work in progress. The community isn’t aware that there’s an ice cream shop right here that’s open.” When I asked her why she chose to open an ice cream shop, she said that she wanted to open a business that would enrich the community, and be an example of what Black woman entrepreneurship could look like.
“I looked at the distance to other ice cream shops in the area, and I saw that they were far away and expensive. I decided I wanted to put something here that the people who live here could enjoy.”
While we were talking, two more customers walked in, a woman and a young child.
“I want strawberry! I want strawberry!” they boy exclaimed as he jumped up and down. I learned that their names are Pearl and Jaylen, and they were there to order ice cream for themselves and their whole family.
“I love this spot,” Pearl said. “It makes me feel like I’m not here.”
That was exactly what Lulu was talking about when I spoke to her. I spent a good part of my life living in the North End of Hartford, getting my haircuts on Albany Avenue, my Jamaican food from Jahm Ske’s a few hundred feet away. For anything special, like ice cream, we had to go to A.C. Peterson’s in Bloomfield or Ben and Jerry’s in West Hartford, or hope for the ice cream truck to decide to pass through our neighborhood.
As Lulu said in the interview, she’s not just another store on Albany Avenue. She’s something different. Her store represents the possibilities of something different in the place that we grew up in. Lulu’s Ice Cream Cafe serves as an example of what can be achieved through hard work and follow-through, even with the unforeseen challenges of a global pandemic.
And it serves some pretty darn good ice cream too.
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Lulu’s Ice Cream Cafe is open seven days a week.
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