Delicious, Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches In Port

Serving up treats and inclusivity at Smusht

jprisco@antonmediagroup.com

The vibrant and inviting Smusht storefront on Main Street has drawn the attention of Port residents for months. After months of preparations, the homemade ice cream and cookie shop is set to open this May.

Since 2020, Port resident Steve Edelson has made homemade ice cream sandwiches for the Port community, whether the treats were served at a town event, private party, or just outside his home.

Smusht offers a variety of artisanally crafted, pre-made ice cream sandwiches. The ice cream and cookies at Smusht are all made in-store. Customers can choose from 21 flavors of homemade ice cream, any two freshly baked cookies and 12 different toppings to create their very own Smusht ice cream sandwich. Smusht is also a full-service ice cream shop where customers can enjoy a cup, cone, sundae or shake.

Edelson came up with this idea 12 to 15 years ago. The business venture got put on hold as life got busy. Like many new entrepreneurs and business owners, the COVID-19 pandemic offered people the free time to craft solid plans for pent-up ideas. With some encouragement from his wife, Edelson began putting his homemade ice cream sandwiches into motion.

“So I started experimenting in the house, learning the science behind cookies and ice cream and making sandwiches,” said Edelson. “I had this vision for what I wanted the sandwich to be. I had friends over and they sampled them.” in December of 2021, put in for the business permits in February of 2022 and has spent the last months decorating, hiring staff and preparing to open this month.

In November of 2020, Edelson put out a Facebook post to tell his friends, family and neighbors he would be opening an ice cream stand outside of his house for the day.

“The line of people was down the block,” said Edelson. “So I did it again. I even started to sell little sample packages from my house, and I realized that it was working.” Edelson needed a commercial kitchen to keep going and meet the demand. He found the Smusht location at 158 Main St.

With 21 flavors of ice cream, different cookie options and candy toppings, Smusht has many options for customers to choose from when creating their ice cream sandwich or cone. Edelson spent time experimenting and researching different flavor combinations.

“I joined the North American Ice Cream Association and I went to a few of their conferences. I learn a lot from other ice cream shop owners,” said Edelson.

Smusht has about 18 employees that are happy to make their customers’ ice cream sandwich fantasies come true. Of those 18 employees, two, Andres and Elizabeth, are from The Nicholas Center in Port Washington.

The Nicholas Center works to create innovative programs and services that allow autistic individuals to learn, live and work in the community. The organization supports individuals to learn critical life skills, improve social and communication abilities, gain vocational training and engage in community projects.

Through the Supported Employment Programs, individuals on the spectrum find jobs that are a good match for their skills. “We support young adults with finding competitive employment. Sometimes that includes internships and other types of opportunities through businesses in the community,” said the director of Supported Employment Programs Norma Jean Miller. “We do different types of activities to come up with job match criteria. We assess the person’s skills, abilities and interests to find a good job match for them.” see SMUSHT on page 4

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