SARATOGA LAKE - Something new is coming to Saratoga Lake: Ugly Ice Cream.
Set to open Friday, May 3 at Brown’s Beach, it’s owned by Mechanicville home builders Joe and John Starr and Ariel Pagan, who also owns The Ugly Rooster Cafe in Malta and Mechanicville.
“The same day we started posting and launched a social campaign, people went nuts for it,” according to a spokesperson for Ugly Ice Cream.
Pagan wanted to open the stand after realizing that there wasn’t a place to get soft serve right on Saratoga Lake. Ugly Ice Cream will have that and more, with a menu including milkshakes, pizza, hot dogs, pretzels and other salty snacks.
Leaning into the brand name, customers can order anything on the menu “ugly.”
“We've been toying with this idea of [customers] being able to order things on the menu ugly. If I want soft serve vanilla with rainbow sprinkles, that's [a] classic, but then if I want to order ugly then it's going to come to me destroyed and ugly,” said the spokesperson. “It’s just fun.”
They’re also planning to have cornhole games and a selfie station.
Ugly Ice Cream is fully staffed and tentative hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Management is hoping to bring in not only beachgoers but also boaters.
“When it gets too dark to be safely on the water, we want them to still have a place to hang out when it's a gorgeous summer night,” said the spokesperson.
Signage will be going up in the next week or so as management readies for the season.
Ugly Ice Cream is located at 511 NY-9P, Saratoga Springs. While it’s located at Brown’s Beach, customers can access the stand outside of the beach’s hours. For more information, visit uglyicecream.com.
Have a suggestion for Bite-sized? Write to Indiana Nash at inash@dailygazette.net.