NEW FAIRFIELD — Twisters Ice Cream Café has only been open for about two weeks and customers have been lining up to taste the shop’s 32 flavors of ice cream and Italian ices, to the delight of owner Miguel Pereira.
“It’s been amazing,” Pereira said about the community’s response. “I’m speechless, to be honest — it’s been nonstop… I’ve literally almost sold out of ice cream.”
Miguel Pereira, who co-owns Village Green Plaza with his brother and sister-in-law Fernando and Andreia Pereira, opened Twisters Ice Cream Café in the shopping plaza at 74 State Route 37 on Aug. 1. The shop is open every day from noon to 10 p.m., though Miguel Pereira said he hopes to expand the hours and open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
“I love the fact that it’s homemade ice cream,” said Rose Marash of New Fairfield as she walked away from the counter on Wednesday afternoon with a cup of cookie dough, Snickers and strawberry ice cream. “They have a great story and the owners are wonderful.”
Pereira said he decided to open Twisters Ice Cream Café in New Fairfield to grow his family’s roots in the greater Danbury community where his stepfather explored his passion for ice cream. His stepfather, Tony Corte-Real, is the former owner of the Danbury-based ice cream shop Dubl Twister.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Tony Corte-Real said on the response to Twisters Ice Cream Cafe in New Fairfield. “It’s a very close town, meaning the people are very together and they try to help the small businesses.”
Corte-Real and Pereira's mother, Florinda Corte-Real, started a Twisters Ice Cream Café in Palm Coast, Fla., in 2016. When the family was unable to find a second location in Florida, Pereira said he found the perfect location in New Fairfield — the spot that Dunkin Donuts vacated two years ago.
'Keep the customers guessing'
From the New York-style Italian ices and the ice cream to the novelty treats, everything sold in the shop is made in house by Pereira and his stepfather. Other treats include birthday cakes, flying saucers, cake pops, Portuguese fried dough and other pastries.
The ice cream is sold in cups, cones, pints and quarts. Along with offering staple flavors like chocolate, mint chip and coffee, the shop will rotate flavors like buttered popcorn, midnight espresso, salted caramel, mixed berry chip and guava to keep customers on their toes, Pereira said.
A few ice cream flavors are named after Pereira’s family members, such as Ari’s Delight, which was named after his niece Ariana Pereira and involves a mix of midnight espresso ice cream with Oreos and cookie dough.
“We try to make it fun and come up with different names to keep it family-based but keep the customers guessing what we have in the cabinets,” said Pereira, a Danbury resident who said he hopes to New Fairfield.
He said they’ve also gotten a big response from the Italian ices, with flavors ranging from pina colada to cotton candy.
AJ Yorio, 11, of New Fairfield said he’s been to Twisters Ice Cream Cafe about five times and has tried most of the Italian ices, though his favorite treat is the cotton candy ice cream.
Tony Yorio, AJ Yorio's father, said there have been lines for the ice cream shop on Friday nights since the shop first opened, adding, “It takes 45 minutes to get an ice cream.”
The shop serves hot and cold brew coffee, espresso, cappuccinos, lattes and macchiatos in the café and from the shop’s drive-thru window. Pereira said they’d like to stay open in the winter during which time they’ll serve coffees, pastries and seasonal ice creams. For now, the focus is on the ice cream.
'Grow the business'
While his family is teaching him how to make ice cream, Pereira has the accounting side of running an ice cream shop down pat, thanks to his bachelor’s degree in finance from Western Connecticut State University and six years of working in commercial lending.
Pereira said he was in Portugal for six years where he worked as a farmer importing fresh chestnuts. After his sister-in-law was offered the chance to buy the day care Bright Beginnings in Village Green Plaza, he said he, his brother and sister-in-law decided to buy the plaza to expand the 30-year-old day care and bring something new to the community.
Village Green Plaza also houses Classic Nails & Spa and Twisters Ice Cream Café, Pereira said.
While Twisters Ice Cream Café isn’t a franchise, Pereira said they are looking to “grow the business but keep it within reason.” He has three employees helping him run the shop in New Fairfield, including Corte-Real’s sister, Mattie Corte-Real.
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