Bliss Bros. Dairy in Attleboro, an Ice Cream Shop with History

David Bliss comes from a long line of history in Attleboro. He said he can trace his family back to English immigrants in 1636.

"I have a genealogy that carries a bit of history," he said.

Bliss owns and operates Bliss Bros. Dairy on Park Street in Attleboro, which has had a few changes over the years. The business began years ago as a dairy farm in Rehoboth, with milk deliveries taking place all around the region. Bliss said the family moved to Park Street in the 1920s and started a milk plant to expand the operation.

"In 1951, they built this main plant with an ice cream stand," he said. "In 1963, my father started driving the bus."

The current building was constructed in 1977, and opened the week before the Blizzard of '78.

"That was interesting," he said.

Bliss said he started running milk in 1975 when he got out of college. He said he worked at the restaurant as a kid as well, washing dishes, cleaning the parking lot and sweeping the floors.

"I was basically shoved into doing anything and everything; I learned from the ground up," he said. "I went to business school, so I learned the financial and accounting stuff."

Bliss said the business has had many changes in the 40 years he has been involved in the restaurant. In the beginning, the main concern was home deliveries, which is no longer the case.

"It's still a competitive business, both in the ice cream and the sandwich shop," he said. "We've transitioned now to only wholesale milk delivery to schools and food service places. We changed with the times."

Bliss said he enjoys working in Attleboro.

"It's a great hometown feel," he said. "It's a family business. We have a lot of long-term employees and customers. Attleboro's changed a lot since almost 60 years, and it's kind of turning into more of a bedroom community and less manufacturing."

The restaurant was renovated this year, and the grand reopening took place Friday.

"The real guts of the place hadn't been touched since 1978," he said. "We did some cosmetic things, but the store was getting tired so we decided to spruce it up. We made more changes than necessary, but it really improved the look of the place."

Bliss Bros. Dairy is located at 711 Park St., and is open every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.