Mother and Daughter Open Binghamton Neighborhood Ice Cream Shop

With only a few days left in summer, a mother and daughter team have realized their dream of opening an ice cream shop in Binghamton.

Clare and Elisabeth Axton of Kirkwood came up with the idea of establishing the business nearly two years ago. They looked at several potential sites in Broome and Tioga counties before settling on a spot on Binghamton's South Side.

The store - Taste Buddies - at 1217 Vestal Avenue started operations last Saturday morning. The place previously was home to Beijing Dumpling restaurant.

Clare Axton grew up in England. She spent some time in Australia before coming to the United States with her family in 2008.

The lease for the shop was signed in June and the Axtons hoped they could open the ice cream shop in several weeks to serve customers for most of the summer. But preparations, including significant renovation work, took longer than they expected.

The shop features several flavors of hard and soft ice cream. It also offers a "99" cone, which originated in England and now is popular throughout Europe.

The owners plan to add other items to attract people during the cold weather months. They expect to offer baked goods, hot chocolate and cider. Indoor and outdoor seating is available.

Clare Axton said the store had a busy opening weekend. She said the "community has been so welcoming."

Axton said opening at the end of summer will allow her and her daughter to spend more time with customers in order to get to know them individually.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.