WILDER — In the early 2000s, Jennifer Mattern and her husband, Luke Mattern, operated Whistlestop Ice Cream out of their pink, single-family home. Looking back, Jennifer Mattern recalls long lines winding past the end of the block. She remembers befriending patrons and seeing teenagers visit the shop on first dates.
After six years, the Matterns closed the shop to raise their three children. They took other jobs and the shop reverted into a home.
“But we missed it,” Jennifer Mattern, 52, said. “We missed being part of that community.”
Four years ago, with their children now adults, the Matterns began reviving the beloved parlor. After renovations and licensing hurdles, Whistlestop reopened Wednesday, out of the same pink home from 22 years ago.
Between sales on Thursday, Jennifer Mattern told the Valley News that she and her husband reopened Whistlestop because they missed the warm feeling when neighbors knew their neighbors. People used to walk the sidewalks and greet each other, she said.
Mattern said neighbors disconnected from each other, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. An ice cream shop like Whistlestop can be a place where people convene and meet others, which Mattern said she thinks Hartford lacks.
“If you’re coming to an ice cream shop, you’re going to bump into somebody,” she said.
To reopen, the Matterns gutted and renovated most of their first floor. They built three serving windows on their porch. On the lawn, they placed seats and picnic tables. The shop offers only outdoor seating. The Matterns still live in the far back of the first floor and upstairs.
Whistlestop sells more than 70 flavors, from vanilla to dill pickle. Customers can select sizes from “baby” to large, in a cone or cup. The shop also offers mix-ins of Oreos, sliced almonds, mini marshmallows and more. The shop serves every cone and cup with a miniature graham cracker jutting from the top of the ice cream.
Whistlestop leans into the railroad motif, which Mattern said comes from its location at 50 Depot St. The menu includes lines like “Travel First Class” and “Welcome Aboard.” Mattern calls employees “engineers” and customers “passengers.”
Mattern said that in the coming weeks, the shop will sell chips and sausages. Later, the shop will add other products, such as milkshakes.
Whistlestop currently operates seasonally, but Mattern said she hopes licensing changes will permit them to run year-round. The couple has not determined an end date for this season, though Mattern said she would serve after snow falls. Current hours, according to the shop’s Facebook page, are 3 to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday to Sunday.
