Island Dairy Treat
Quality Counts at Island Dairy Treat | June 2019
By Maria Landry
“This is the only place we ever came to get ice cream,” Jason Curtis says from inside Skowhegan’s Island Dairy Treat, which he and his wife, Shannon, bought in 2017. “One day we were sitting here and we saw the for sale sign in the window. We talked… Wouldn’t it be nice to own something like that?”
Now in their third season of ownership, they can answer that question with a definitive ‘Yes.’
Skowhegan natives, Jason and Shannon run the business—located at 23 Island Avenue—with help from their son, Drake, 20, and daughter, Sydney, 16, plus a couple of part-time workers.
“I think customers enjoy seeing us, knowing the owners are here,” Jason said. “We’re taking the orders, we’re making the ice creams. We try to make sure it looks the same each time.”
Both he and Shannon emphasize their focus on quality and customer service. To that end, they serve Annabelle’s hard serve.
“Annabelle’s is a 16 percent butterfat ice cream. Generally a premium ice cream will be 12 percent, so Annabelle’s is a super premium,” Jason explained. “That’s what gives you the fullness and the taste.”
“It’s all natural, no additives, no preservatives,” Shannon said. Since no dyes are used, sometimes the ice cream looks a little different. “A typical mint ice cream would be green. Ours is white.”
Among the 20 hard-serve flavors they offer, Shannon says some of the most popular are Caribbean Coconut, Coffee Espresso, and Peanut Butter Fantasy. Her favorite? Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip.
Jason added, “The Cookie Dough Monster, that’s a big seller. I’m partial to the coconut and the Pumpkin Pie.”
In addition to Annabelle’s, they offer soft serve in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, black raspberry, two twist varieties, and maple.
“We use real strawberries, real raspberries. Again, going back to quality,” Shannon said. They buy maple syrup locally from Bob Haulk in East Madison for their popular maple option.
They have gluten-free cones available, and this year they’ve introduced an all-in-one non-dairy, sugar-free, gluten-free ice cream.
“That pretty much hits everybody,” Shannon said. “It’s a soft serve. That’s the one that changes flavors every week. It’s pretty popular.”
“We want to be able to offer something for everybody,” Jason noted.
And if you’re looking for something other than ice cream? Try the hot dog special. The two hot dog deal includes two hot dogs, a bag of chips, a soda or water, and a child-size soft serve for just $7.
“We have three or four different ways you could do it,” Shannon said, including two hot dogs and a shake or even a one hot dog deal.
It all comes down to listening to what people are looking for, Jason said—and, as always, quality.
“We use Kirschner natural-casing hot dogs,” Shannon said. “For us, we’re not going to do things half way.”
The Curtises are in it for the long haul and even have vanity license plates that read DARYTRT and ICECRMM. They’re continuing a legacy of longevity—the Dairy Treat served its first ice cream cones in 1952 and has been open consecutive seasons ever since.
“It’s one of the oldest in the state,” Jason said. What’s the secret? Quality, for sure, but also a sense of place.
“There’s never a hurry,” Jason noted. “Just come and enjoy the river and the scenery.”
Learn more at the Island Dairy Treat Facebook page.
