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“Every day has been bigger than the last one,” said owner Al DiGuido. “We wanted to be a place where everyone would come together.”
And after only a week since opening, DiGuido said he has seen their hopes coming true with exuberance.
“It renews my faith in the goodness of people,” he said. Each person who has walked into the ice cream and candy store has lit up with delight at what is offered, DiGuido said.
Saugatuck Sweets is offering specialty ice creams made in New York State, cakes and pies baked locally and a wall of loose candy for customers to mix themselves.
“We didn’t want to be a chain store,” DiGuido said. “So we’re trying to have a local feeling to the store.”
They got input by turning to Facebook and asking people to help them name their sundaes. Most of the sundaes are modeled after an old ice cream shop on the Post Road, he said, and the names that they were given reflect the community.
What they’re doing seems to resonate with area residents, DiGuido said. He grew up in the Saugatuck area of Westport and said he was excited to see the area grow in commercial viability and walkability.
“It’s going to become a destination,” he said. Live bands will be playing in the square outside his store most Friday and Saturday nights starting in June, and he hopes it will bring more people into an area that has been underappreciated.
“It’s a family situation,” DiGuido said. “This is a neighborhood.”
Saugatuck Sweets is located at 575 Riverside Ave. in Westport and is open from noon to 10 p.m. Mondays through Sundays.
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