All her life, Mary Blanchard has loved really good food and baking. Now she is sharing her passion for making delicious homemade ice cream and baked goods and putting smiles on people’s faces with her new business, Blanchard’s Creamery. It sells 30 flavors of homemade ice cream, three flavors of frozen yogurt and sorbets and a variety of baked goods and coffee.

The creamery opened Memorial Day Weekend and is open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. For Blanchard, the creamery is part of a lifelong dream. She has added making ice cream to her passion in making people happy and smile by eating her delicious creations. And for Blanchard, no food makes people smile like ice cream, so she added the tasty cold dairy treat to her repertoire.

Her overwhelming desire to make homemade ice cream occurred while she lived in Boston and worked as a social worker. Blanchard “wanted to do something different,” and decided it was time to pursue her dream. She wanted to own a creamery. So for 18 months, she studied and experimented, mixing milk, cream, sugar and stabilizer to make ice cream.

Her next step proved harder. She grew up in Newcastle and wanted to operate her creamery in Midcoast Maine. She searched the region for months, but didn’t find any places for sale. Then she took a bike ride past an old barn at 660 Boothbay Road in Edgecomb. “I rode past it and knew immediately this was the place. It was a beautiful space and the owners were glad to sell because it gave the building new life.”

The next phase was renovating the barn. She and her life partner, Theresa Brophy, moved to Edgecomb with their son, Ben Blanchard, in October. The timing worked perfectly as Brophy, a schoolteacher, and Ben, a student, could attend classes through distance learning.

During the pandemic, Blanchard was able to focus on the renovations with her family living nearby. Now with the business open, Blanchard is able to focus on her dream. “I like seeing people’s faces when they get an ice cream. I love making people happy and this is a great experience,” Blanchard said.

Blanchard makes all the ice cream herself. She estimates it takes eight minutes to make  two 2.5 gallon tubs of ice cream. Her ice cream menu includes traditional flavors chocolate and vanilla and some new favorites. “Our signature flavors are mint chip, caramel waffle crunch and blueberry cobbler. We have some classic Maine favorites, too. There’s grape nut which is a great old-fashioned flavor along with coconut almond chip,” she said.

Joining Blanchard, Brophy and Ben Blanchard working at the shop are Alex Murray, Carissa Fawber, Baylie Anastasio, Emma Abbott, Remy LeBel, Scarlett Stone, Abby Kopp, Ruby Long, Avery Wheeler and Anunthaya MacDonnell. 

And as more people emerge from their pandemic hibernation, Blanchard’s Creamery has seen a steady stream of customers. “The response has been great,” Brophy said. “The people of Edgecomb have all been very welcoming and nice.”

As a new owner, Blanchard is learning all the aspects of operating a business. She is also learning the habits and likes of her customers. An early lesson is customers prefer vanilla over chocolate.