Dean Treats opens up in Charles City

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

Downtown Charles City has a new spot for sweet snacks as Dean Treats officially opened its doors this week.

The ice cream shop has been in the works for more than a year now as Dean Jewelers’ owner Dave Davidson has prepared to diversify his business by renovating a portion of his building for food service.

From remodeling the interior of the building into a “classically modern” ice cream shop to installing a ramp and signage outside, it has been a long process for Davidson to turn his plans into a reality.

“We want to have a positive attitude,” said Davidson, who has long been an advocate for bringing more food and entertainment downtown.

Just in time for the Fourth of July, Dean Treats finally began serving customers on Monday, July 1.

“It’s very good,” said Sharon Kamoss, who, along with her friend, Stacey Watterstrom, were the first customers through the door on Monday afternoon. “We’ve been looking forward to it.”

Serving more than a dozen flavors of Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream along with a selection of homemade fudges, Dean Treats is starting off with a small selection but has plans to add more offerings over time. Davidson hopes to add fresh donuts before long, and eventually expand into hot lunch items like pizza and sandwiches.

“It’s really a soft opening,” said Davidson. “We can hardly wait to add the other stuff.”