With temperatures reaching a sweltering 90 degrees on Monday, Norwalk residents flocked to their nearest ice cream and yogurt shops in order to beat the heat. It was an especially busy day for hometown favorite Sweet Ashley's in East Norwalk.
"Vanilla is always the most popular flavor no matter what," said owner Steve Tyminski. "But today we've been selling a lot of chocolate malted crunch and toasted coconut."
Tyminski, who makes every flavor from scratch daily, told Patch that his toasted coconut ice cream has a celebrity fan. Comedian and former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell tasted it while passing through town a few years ago and had a large order of it shipped to Manhattan.
Tyminksi said that his flavors are inspired by none other than his customers. "They will request the simplest of combinations, such as crushed graham crackers with vanilla, but also flavors like red velvet cake and salty turtle," he said.
Two rare finds that Sweet Ashley's carries is great nut (a combo of vanilla ice cream and Grape Nut cereal) and rum raisin, which are popular among Caribbean immigrants.
"When a [Jamaican grocery] nearby closed down, our customers asked us to make those flavors here and they are quite popular."
Tyminski, who holds a degree in elementary school education but never actually worked a school, opened Sweet Ashley's over 20 years ago after running Baskin Robbins stores in Stratford and New Canaan for 18 years. He named his store after his daughter, who is now a teacher in Florida. His younger daughter Charlotte now helps at the store.
Among Sweet Ashley's patrons on Monday was Meridan resident Aixa Merturi, who was enjoying a sweet treat with her daughter Alexis, her neice Alicia and her nephew Brandon.
"Everytime I come to Norwalk, we have to go Sweet Ashley's," she said.
Although she usually goes for mint chocolate chip, she went for toasted coconut on Monday, which she said was "really good."
Mint chocolate chip is also a favorite for Alicia and Alexis, while Brandon enjoys a combo of chocolate chip cookie dough, monster and swamp. "I like it because it's sweet," Brandon said.
Sweet Ashley's is located at 248 East Ave. Click on the store's Facebook page for more information.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
