Serving up a picturesque soft serve ice cream cone isn’t as easy as it looks, according to one new ice cream shop owner.
“It’s all in the wrist,” Christine Ramundo said with a laugh. “Everybody thinks it is easy, but it isn’t easy to twist a cone.”
Some people, Ramundo said, clearly have the twisting skills hardwired, but others take months of practice to, well, continue to reach less than desirable results.
“My mother started in May and by the end of June she still couldn’t twist it,” Ramundo said.
Ramundo was 15 years old when she started working at Kurver Kreme on Central Avenue in Albany and continued working at the ice cream shop until she was 24, when motherhood took her focus. Then, she took a call from friend who owns Kurver asking her to come back and twist some more cones.
“I’ve done ice cream almost my whole entire life,” she said. “I like seeing the people’s reaction when they get the ice cream and the little kids’ faces when you hand them a cone.”
For the past six years she worked at Kurver, but when the ice cream drive-in Highbridge Twist in Rotterdam was up for sale, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to run her own shop. Even as a 15-year-old, she could see herself in soft serve for many years to come.
“I didn’t think I would be owning my own store, but I liked it,” she said. “I really enjoyed what I did.”
She said she enjoyed the fast paced environment along with getting to meet new people.
Since the transition was quick, there haven’t been many changes at Highbridge Twist yet — other than the name. Along with her family, Ramundo settled on The Grandstand, playing off the batting cages that are on site along with the ice cream stand.
Next season, Ramundo is looking to add frozen yogurt to the store and host birthday parties in the store’s indoor room.
The soft serve ice cream comes from a Crowley’s mixture and then one of 24 different syrups is added to the mix to provide a bevy of flavors. The shop’s hard ice cream is supplied by Perry’s Ice Cream.
She said her favorite ice cream choice is a peanut butter and hot fudge sundae with Reese’s Pieces topping it off. Also, some mint chocolate chip ice cram with hot fudge is another favorite.
As far as what customers order the most, she said it can very greatly from day to day, with a rush for one item happening one day and another day it’s barely ordered at all.
The busiest times though are more reliable, with a rush happening from around 1 to 2 p.m. and another after dinnertime starting around 7 p.m. The store also serves traditional grilled and fired fare, with some healthy choices, such as a grilled chicken salad.
Owning her own store presents a different challenge to tackle every day, but Ramundo’s family is very supportive and works at the shop with her. So far, the mixture of family and business has been enjoyable.
“It is a lot of work, but it is worth it,” she said.
She is hoping her family takes an interest in the business and will carry on running it. Her 14-year-old son already enjoys working at the shop. Also, he is a natural at twisting cones.
“I told him it is in his blood,” Ramundo said.
