Two Women Fulfill A Dream With Waterford’s Newest Creamery

Tara Mazzella and Amy Yeomans wanted to start a business. 

“Ever since I graduated college and left my house,” said Yeomans, a mother of three, “I’ve always wanted to own something." 

So they did. 

On Friday evening, Cowlick's Creamery opened at 521 Boston Post Road. The response has been “fantastic” since it opened, as people flooded the ice cream and frozen yogurt shop that night, and business has stayed pretty consistent since, Yeomans said. 

"Are we tired?," Yeomans said. "Yes.” 

“But are we excited to start work every day?,” said Mazzella, finishing her best friend’s sentence. “Even more so.” 

The store is located where the Golden Spur package store used to be. It features self-serve soft ice cream and frozen yogurt, along with candy, soft drinks, coffee and some cakes.

Both women live in Waterford and their children – five in all – all go to school in Waterford. They want Cowlick's to be a comfortable, country environment where kids can be, well, kids.

“Just let them come here and have fun,” Mazzella said. “We want to keep the place clean but we also want the kids to feel like they can come in and help themselves, and just not worry about (if they spill something).”

The Birth

Mazzella began saying she wanted to open a frozen yogurt store about eight months ago. When Yeomans heard the idea, she immediately wanted to be part of it, and the women who said they’ve been best friends for four years agreed to partner.

They began to look for places and were first considering a plaza further down Boston Post Road. However, Mazzella’s husband owned 521 Boston Post Road and gave them an idea of what it could be. The two women ran with it, and agreed to make 521 Boston Post Road their location.

Over the span of 86 days, the women and their builder – Greg Cioci - completely renovated the property, both inside and out. Last Friday, after getting all the town approvals and the machines up-and-working, they opened.

“I hate to compare it to it but it’s like having a child,” Yeomans said. “It is just so much, and then you give birth and you’ve got the baby on your hands and your just thinking what the next step is… it really hasn’t sunken in yet.”

The Store

The store’s main focus is self-service ice cream and frozen yogurt, along with a deluge of toppings. For ice cream, there is one machine that has soft-serve vanilla and chocolate, with a third lever for a twist.

There are four other machines in the store, all dedicated to frozen yogurt. For each machine, there are two flavors on either end, with a third lever in the middle that makes a mix between the two. For example, there was a machine Thursday that had strawberry and peanut butter, with the middle lever making a mixture of the two, or “peanut butter and jelly” frozen yogurt.

The women also have cakes from a baker in New Haven, coffee, soft drinks and candy that can be bought in bulk. They also are considering having wraps, pastries and soups starting in September, and opening earlier, to create more of a “café” feel at the store. 

Cowlick's is open from noon to 8 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and noon to 9 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The phone number is (860) 574-9020.