A sweet new release is coming soon to Old Town Books — although it isn’t the latest summer romance or nonfiction read.
The independent bookstore is preparing to enter the confectionery world this summer with Fabled Ice Cream, a new ice cream brand by store founder Ally Kirkpatrick. The brand is planning weekly drops of literary-inspired flavors, available in small-batch pints at Old Town Books (130 S. Royal Street).
These include a Brontë-esque brown butter “Wuthering Bites” made with “Heath(cliff)” toffee, a “Jane Eyre Grey” with Earl Grey and lavender, and a “Charlotte’s Web”-inspired “Wilbur’s Blue Ribbon” — a blue spirulina-colored cotton candy flavor with a white chocolate shell.
“Names, ingredients, and textures are designed to reflect the tone and feeling of the story behind them, so a scoop becomes more than dessert,” Kirkpatrick said in a release. “It becomes a conversation, a memory, or a moment of discovery.”
The brand is preparing to launch weekly rotating flavor drops, with online pickup orders taken via Hotplate. Fabled Ice Cream will also be available as a pop-up at some of bookstore’s special events this summer, including the Hot Book Summer celebration on June 6.
Kirkpatrick said working on Fabled Ice Cream has been a “fun extension of the bookstore.” She first announced the brand last spring while fundraising efforts for its creation were still underway. It started as a pop-up concept, with a previous appearance at the shop’s seventh anniversary celebration in November.
Looking ahead, Kirkpatrick said the goal is to take Fabled Ice Cream beyond its pop-up status.
“The long-term vision is to open a permanent scoop shop that serves as a gathering place for the neighborhood, where books, storytelling, and ice cream come together in a space designed for connection and return visits,” she said in a press release.
