A POPULAR ice cream business has expanded with the launch of a second shop.

The Handmade Ice Cream Company, which has a store on Crakeside Business Park, Greenodd, had a ‘hectic’ first morning after opening the doors to a brand new shop on Market Street in Ulverston.

Owner Steven Darvill said: “I’d say it’s been hectic, that’s the best way of describing it.

“It’s been good, so fingers crossed. We have done exceptionally well and have been very lucky with our Greenodd site so fingers crossed the new site will be a bit more convenient for the people in the town centre.

“I’m optimistic, hopefully we will get some nice weather.”

Mr Darvill said he had the idea to open up a second shop after a rare opportunity to open a ‘little shop’.

He said: “The opportunity came up for a little shop, which doesn’t come up very often.

“I just thought, well we have done well at the moment where we are but there are certain limitations on what we can do here, so we’ll try another site and see how we get on.

“It has been brilliant, I have been incredibly lucky.

“It’s a fantastic location so we’re going for it.”

The ‘Ice Cream & Dessert Parlour’ in decorated with a dazzling hot pink with lollipops hanging from the ceiling.

They sell an assortment of unique ice cream flavours, as well as cold drinks, including Tropical Delight, Berry Burst, Mango Twist and Strawberry Split smoothies.

The business does not yet have officially opening and closing times, but are waiting to see when best suits their customers.

Mr Darvill said: “We are going to play it by ear for opening hours but we will probably look at 11am or 12pm to about 5-6pm.

“We are waiting to see what the popular hours are and we will go from there.”

As well as providing delicious treats to the community, they have also provided new job opportunities, adding to their growing army of employees.

He said: “We have taken on an additional four members of staff, so in total we are probably just short of 20 members of staff - most of them are part time but it has grown pretty quick.”

To see the latest flavours or for more information, visit: https://www.handmadeicecream.co.uk/