For a few storefronts in New Paltz, change has come. ShopRite Plaza will see the opening of Just-A-Buck dollar store this August, Twistee Cone is Frosty Rock Creamery reborn under a new name and new ownership, and Dunkin’ Donuts has a slick new makeover.
Here’s a little more information about all the changes.
Twistee Cone
For David Moore, a teacher, basketball and football coach, the ice cream stand next to his old job at New Paltz Wine & Spirits was something of a daydream. Ice cream was something he knew he could handle.
On the plus side too, the summer ice cream season lined up with his break in the academic year. “It’s a good mix,” he said.
He saw the original owners of Frosty Rock sell to a new owner. “I wanted it back then, but I couldn’t afford it,” Moore explained.
So when it went up for sale again, Moore — a local, who graduated New Paltz Central High School in 1996 — took the plunge, remodeled a little and changed the brand name. Twistee Cone opened on May 14.
To learn more about the new ice cream shop, stop by at 247 Main Street in New Paltz, or call them at 255-2100. They’re open 12:30 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and Sundays, 12:30 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Search for Twistee Cone on Facebook for more details, or contact them at twisteecone@gmail.com.
Dunkin’ Donuts
Over at 250 Main Street, Dunkin’ Donuts recently reopened after a five-week closure to remodel. Regular patrons will notice a few changes — a new sign, a bike rack and a new façade outside, new décor, chairs, front counter setup and digital signs within.
“Every ten years, the Dunkin’ brand requires us to remodel,” explained Karen Casella, the office manager for the Hudson Valley Dunkin’ Donuts franchises.
That’s a strategy Dunkin’s corporate headquarters uses to ensure branding stays consistent in each shop. For Mario Sardinha and Jeff Vieira, owners of the New Paltz location, the ten-year limit had been reached. As a franchise, they had to do it.
Inside, the redesigned donut shop appears bigger. There’s new seating and customers seem to have more room. According to Casella, that is an illusion — the store’s actual footprint hasn’t changed — caused by a better use of space.
One change behind the scenes is a new walk-in cooler installed in the back of New Paltz Dunkin’ Donuts. The bike rack out front is aimed at SUNY New Paltz students, giving them a place to park their cycle if they ride up from campus.
“We’re hoping that everybody likes the new design and we bring in more customers,” she said.
Just-A-Buck
In the ShopRite Plaza, the dollar store Just-A-Buck will open, hopefully, sometime in mid-August.
According to Mike Conners — director of store operations for the New Windsor-based, family owned dollar store chain — New Paltz’s Just-A-Buck will be unique in its social mission.
“The New Paltz location is very, very interesting,” Conners said. It will employ the developmentally disabled — who traditionally have much higher unemployment rates than the able-bodied and neurotypical.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in June 2014 people with disabilities faced a 12.9 percent unemployment rate compared to 6.1 percent for the able-bodied. That figure includes physical disabilities like paralysis or blindness.
For developmentally or intellectually disabled people only, the stats are much, much worse. According to the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, unemployment for that group can be up to 88 percent. Conners put it at 60 percent to 70 percent, based on the information he had, however.
It’s not the first time a store in New York State has focused on helping the disabled find employment. “This is actually the seventh New York store to do this model,” he said. “It really is a very unique business model.”
Owned by Ulster-Greene ARC, the New Paltz Just-A-Buck’s employees — save the management — will be in the ARC program. That’s something that Conners likes.
“It’s a great program,” he said.
Just-A-Buck is slated to go in at 260 Main Street. To learn more about UGARG, visit https://www.ugarc.org/. To learn more about Just-A-Buck, head to https://www.justabuck.com/. ++
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