Ice Cream Bar in Ulysses offers renewed familiar flavors and novel modern take on seasonal fun

Rob Farrell and Sarah DeSantis, two natives of the Finger Lakes region, had a vision. They and their three children, who endearingly refer to themselves as “The Farrell Five,” left their fast lives in New York City and relocated to Trumansburg for a fresh start. 

“We were like six weeks in my parents’ basement, we’re like, ‘What are we doing here?’” Farrell said. “We bought a house in Trumansburg and moved there permanently, and we knew we wanted to do something new and different.”

For the Farrells, “new and different” meant buying the former Not My Dad’s Ice Cream site at 207 E. Main St., a staple of Farrell’s childhood and a linchpin of spring and summer life in Trumansburg.  

“This place had been for sale for a while. The previous owner had kind of been trying to sell it on and off and really wanted to find the right buyer who was going to keep it an ice cream stand,” Farrell said. “But also someone who would like to bring some new life into it and do something different.”

From the twilight of Not My Dad’s Ice Cream’s lifecycle came Ice Cream Bar, the Farrells’ take on the delicious dairy treat.

“It’s such a happy business. People are excited to come get ice cream, and everybody’s got a smile on their face,” Farrell said. “Living in upstate New York, it’s like a sign of the weather. It’s like, ‘Oh, the stand’s open! Spring is here, summer is coming.’ That has been the best part. It’s just being a part of everybody’s happiness every day. Serving ice cream is a pretty good thing.”

The focus for the Farrell family has been preserving the stand’s legacy, while also building upon it.

“I used to come to get ice cream when I was a kid. My older sister worked here when I was in high school. There are a lot of real nostalgic feelings, but also legitimate memories, as well,” Farrell said. “It’s a really community-oriented joint. That’s something that we’ve really been embracing and trying to further push.”

To further that family-friendly environment, Farrell is embracing the concept of being more than an ice cream bar.

“We want to get people to hang out and spend some time out here,” he noted. “We try to sell ourselves as the funnest family hang out. We want to be a place where there is something to do. We’ve got a bunch of big board games outside. We’ve got a little playscape structure that we built. We’ve got a fake grass wall that’s like an Instagram wall. We are just trying to get people to feel like they can come and hang out and enjoy some outside time, while they get their ice cream with their kids and family.”

Beyond that, Farrell said the family tried to simplify the stand’s menu, as well as offer unique new food offerings. Ice Cream Bar will also eventually feature beer and wine, he added.

“We kept many of the menu items, but we did pare things back and simplify things. We made the new menu board easy to read, too,” Farrell said. “We also let go of some of the things that were a little bit older school.”

One of the new offerings that has been a hit with customers is the Gimme! Coffee milkshake, which is made with coffee from the popular local roastery. 

“We started taking credit cards, which has been really helpful and really cool. People really liked that,” Farrell said. “The other thing we’ve pursued is doing more social media and having a larger web presence. We’re also going to have a kind of a locally focused beer and wine list, and wine slushies. We’re in the process of getting our license from the state of New York for that.”

As far as food goes, Farrell said Ice Cream Bar is iterating on Not My Dad’s Ice Cream’s hot dog offerings. 

“We’ve added pulled pork and mac and cheese,” he said. “We are also trying to be kid friendly. We’ve got like juice boxes and apple pouches and stuff like that for kids. We’re also, as time goes on, going to do seasonal specials. We’re going to be open a little bit later in the fall definitely, through Halloween. We’re tentatively planning on doing some holiday pop-up stuff, as well.”

Ulysses Connection appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief

The Ulysses Philomathic Library will host an event with the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts’ Elite Competition Team Dancers on July 27 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The team will read dance-related books, teach basic dance moves and play dance games. The class is free and open to the public, but is best advised for children 3 years old and up and their caregivers.