Photo and Article by Scott Heald

What’s the tastiest postmeal treat this side of Worcester?  Although there may be many competitors for this honor according to individual preference, this summer a new venture is offering ice-cold snacks to please your palate.

Recently The Dedham Times visited Abbott’s Frozen Custard, a dessert stand in Needham Center that opened around the time of this year’s summer solstice. Located at 934 Great Plain Avenue near the intersection with Dedham Street/Route 135, the store offers a wide array of goodies to help beat the heat of summer.

Frozen custard resembles ice cream, but has important distinctions with it as well. First, all custard contains egg yolks. A custom-made machine churns a mixture of yolks, milk and sugar very slowly, so that there’s no air in it, making the product solid and creamy before it is frozen.

On the day of my visit, a Friday afternoon, three teenagers worked under the supervision of owner Mary Pat Dauria behind a display of cakes and frozen custard. The store has a window opening to customers on the sidewalk and two outdoor benches, although it does not feature indoor seating for customers.

The store sells some eight flavors of frozen custard at any given time. On the day of my visit, those were Vanilla, Chocolate Almond, Coffee, Mint Oreo, Chocolate, Butterfinger Delight, Strawberry Banana (yogurt), and Chocolate Lite (non-fat). Chocolate, Vanilla and Chocolate Almond are always on the menu, Dauria said, with other flavors rotating. In addition, Dauria lists a frozen yogurt as well as a lite product for people who cannot eat sugar.

Abbott’s was founded in the Rochester, New York area as a family-owned business.  Abbott’s started to franchise in the late 1970’s, and now operates numerous stores in New York State, several in Florida, and one in Japan. The Needham Center location is theonly Abbott’s in New England, Dauria said.

Dauria discussed the opportunity to open her own enterprise. “I grew up in Rochester, New York” she said, and noted that her future husband Alex also loved the unusual dessert from a young age. “A big evening out was going to Abbott’s Frozen Custard. Every time you’d go home to visit family and friends in Rochester, before we’d even go see our friends, the first thing we’d do is make a beeline to Abbott’s.”

Dauria has lived in Greater Boston for more than 25 years, but had no local frozen custard store to satisfy her craving. So she arranged to create her own such establishment.

“About five years ago I made the decision that I really wanted to bring it here, so I talked to the family, and they were excited... I waited until I found the right spot in Needham, and last summer this opened up.”

The prices on some of the most prominent items are as follows: A kiddie size cone or dish was $2.50, a single scoop cone or dish costs $3.75, with a double scoop cone or dish at $4.50. Shakes are $4.25, and Flurries are listed at $4.50.  A chocolate- or jimmie-covered banana goes for $2.50, cannoli for $2.75, and sundaes ranging from the Classic for $5.50 to a Banana Split for $7.50. A Wheel of frozen custard between two cookies costs $1.75, and the store also features a variety of sodas and bottled water, as well as a full line of treats and toppings for sundaes or dishes.

The Needham store’s summer hours are Monday -Thursday from Noon - 10 p.m., Friday-Saturday Noon - 11 p.m., and Sunday 2 - 9 p.m. Dauria plans to keep it open year round, emphasizing sale of pies, cakes and novelty items, as well as offering coffee, during the cold months. For more information about Abbott’s Frozen Custard, visit www.abbottscustard.com.

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