Mrs. Moriconi’s Ice Cream Expanding With Worcester Kitchen

WORCESTER, MA — A local premium ice cream maker will soon open a public-facing production kitchen in Worcester where customers can watch the product get made — and take some home.

Mrs. Moriconi’s Ice Cream founder Julia Moriconi began crafting and serving ice cream during summer 2020, initially selling pints and other frozen treats at places like the Sprinkler Factory and local farmers markets.

Moriconi initially produced her ice cream products at a local commissary kitchen, and opened a retail space along Pleasant Street in the Tatnuck area, but that store closed ahead of the opening of the new kitchen. Moriconi also has a food truck and cart that travels to events across the region, and may also stop outside the kitchen.

The new production kitchen at the Whitall Mills complex — now also home to another former Sprinkler Factory denizen, KrafTea Kombucha — will allow visitors to buy a wide range of products to-go. The kitchen will sell cakes, pies, tarts, Italian ice made with real fruit and a new line of coffee ice in vanilla or amaretto flavors, Moriconi said in a news release.

The new kitchen will hold a soft opening on Aug. 18 to coincide with the return of local college students. The kitchen still needs approval from the Worcester License Commission, which will likely happen at the Aug. 10 meeting.

"It’s been three years since my first ice cream sale. Every decision I’ve made since then has been a logical stepping stone," Moriconi said in a news release. "I’d say my growth is steady and very rewarding."

Before opening the ice cream business, Moriconi studied pastry arts at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, and Penn State’s Food Science and Safety Program in Dairy.

The Whitall Mills complex is quickly growing into an eating and drinking destination. Following the opening of an Acoustic Java roastery and café in 2018 and the KrafTea Kombucha move, Courthouse Brew Co. recently opened a new taproom in the complex. Mrs. Moriconi's kitchen will be right next door to the brewery — which does allow patrons to bring in outside food.