If you grew up anywhere near Walnut Beach, you know the drill: sandy feet, a line out the door on Broadway, and that pink-and-green building with flowers spilling out of every box. What a lot of people licking cones on the bench out front don’t know is that the shop at 17 Broadway used to be the neighborhood’s post office — and that the woman who turned it into Walnut Beach Creamery helped change the whole stretch of shoreline around it.
Milford Voice Sponsor
With the creamery’s posted “last scoop of the season” set for Oct. 31, there are only a couple of weeks left to get down there before the freezers go quiet for the winter. So we took a closer look at the place Milford has been lining up for since the mid-2000s.
From a beach post office to a scoop shop
The creamery’s own website tells the origin story simply: it began when Susan Patrick “fell in love with the Walnut Beach neighborhood and envisioned a place to bring people together over ice cream.” Patrick grew up around her father’s pizzeria in New York, and the site says that childhood taught her “the best places weren’t just about food — they were about community, laughter, and shared moments.”
Connecticut’s business registry shows Walnut Beach Creamery, Inc. was registered on May 10, 2006. City officials have said Patrick opened the shop in the old Walnut Beach Post Office that same year; the creamery’s website dates its story to 2007 and this summer called it “nineteen summers” and counting. Either way, the scoop shop has now outlasted most of the businesses that were on the beach when it opened.
Walnut Beach in the mid-2000s wasn’t the arts-studio-and-boardwalk destination it is today. When then-Mayor Ben Blake named Patrick the city’s Mayor’s Distinguished Citizen, he said she had “transformed Walnut Beach not just with ice cream, but as head of the Walnut Beach Business Association,” and credited her with helping turn the neighborhood into an arts destination, according to the Connecticut Post. Local leaders quoted at the time pointed to the Third Thursday strolls, dance parties, the Margarita Mile, the Walnut Beach Witch Halloween party and the Walnut Beach Ice Cream Run, with proceeds going to the Boys & Girls Club of Milford.
The people behind the counter
Patrick is still the owner, and she is still very much the face of the place — the Milford Chamber of Commerce lists her as owner, and the shop answers reviews online. The creamery has also grown in quieter ways. In early 2023, she told the Milford Mirror she was taking down a wall to expand the shop, a project the pandemic had put on hold. “Our walk-in freezer space is pretty tight and getting tighter,” she said then, explaining that the extra room would let the creamery keep up with the shop, restaurant orders and its mobile truck.
She’s also not shy about experimenting. Patrick launched I*SKREAM, a line of chocolate-covered ice cream bars sweetened with stevia, which Hartford Business Journal reported was incorporated in 2010. “It took a while to get something which tasted close to the regular ice cream we were making in the store,” she told the paper.
Behind the window is a crew of scoopers who, according to the shop, will help you build a custom cake over the phone and hand out samples while the line backs up toward the beach. Patrick’s ask in return is small: the website politely reminds visitors not to block the neighbors’ driveways and points them to extra parking at the West Shore Neighborhood Center at the top of the street.
Everything is made right here
The creamery says all of its ice cream, sorbets and many toppings are made in-house in small batches, and the menu rotates often enough that a flavor on the board might be gone by the weekend. “Small batches mean we sometimes run out — but that just means it’s time to discover a new favorite,” the menu says. The prices are refreshingly 2010s: $3.95 for a single, $4.95 for a double, $5.95 for a triple, plus $2 for a homemade waffle cone. A pint to take home runs $8. Dogs get a $3 pup cup.
| Sponsored Partner |
 Tired of scratched, stained boards? Meet the rustproof stainless oneMulti-purpose, easy to clean, rustproof and sturdy.ChopWell · See more › |
| Milford Voice may be paid a small commission on partner offers at no cost to you. |
What to order
A double on a homemade waffle cone
The waffle cones are made to order, and regulars swear by them. Start with a house signature like Walnut Beach Mud — Belgian chocolate ice cream with espresso brownie pieces and walnuts — and pair it with Honey Vanilla, the shop’s honey-cinnamon take on the classic. Fair warning: the cones are tender, and the staff will happily tuck yours into a cup if it starts to crumble.
A cup of the signature flavors
If you want to taste what makes this place different, go for a cup and branch out: Berry Good (blueberry, raspberry and strawberry ice cream with bittersweet chocolate chunks), Sinful Ginger with crystallized ginger, Nutty Yankee (coconut, almonds and dried cranberries) or Queen Josephine, vanilla with a caramel swirl and chocolate-covered waffle cone pieces. This time of year the board leans into fall, with flavors like Apple Crisp, Dark Pumpkin and Cinnabun.
A custom ice cream cake
Birthday coming up? You choose two ice cream flavors and a middle filling, then a chocolate or graham cracker crust, sprinkles and an inscription. Cakes start at $34 for a 6-inch round and go up to $75 for a half sheet that serves 14 to 20. Orders are taken by phone at (203) 878-7738 or in the shop only.
The heart-shaped cake
The 6-inch heart serves six to eight for $34, and it is exactly as sweet as it looks. An ice cream pie at $32 is the easy grab-and-go option.
What locals say
Online, the creamery is one of the most-reviewed spots on the Milford shoreline, and the reviews read like love letters. “WBC is consistently the best ice cream you are going to find, even outside of Milford,” Eric wrote on Google. “We make it a point to go here multiple times a week — it is that good!” The owner replied: “Thank you for the love! We’ll see you soon!”
Michael called it the place “where the ice cream tastes exactly like you want it to,” recommending “the waffle cone and a single (generous) scoop” of the cupcake flavor. “Don’t let the line scare you away. They are efficient in keeping things moving along,” he wrote. Bo said the creamery “perfectly captures the spirit of summer at Walnut Beach,” singling out Purple Rain with ube brownies and shortbread as a standout. Snehal’s pick: “My favorite is lavender and fig.”
The common gripes are small ones: the line on a hot July night, not much room to sit, and those fragile waffle cones. Most people seem to think that’s a fair trade.
The truck that comes to you
If you can’t make it to the beach, the beach can come to you. The creamery’s green ice cream truck books birthday parties, weddings and corporate events, and Patrick has said the 2023 expansion was partly about making enough ice cream to keep the truck stocked. The creamery also makes custom flavors for restaurants and local businesses — so you may have eaten a Walnut Beach scoop somewhere else in town without knowing it.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Walnut Beach Creamery: 17 Broadway, Milford · (203) 878-7738 · walnutbeachcreamery.com
October hours: Thursday 3–9 p.m. · Friday–Saturday noon–10 p.m. · Sunday noon–9 p.m. · Last scoop of the season Oct. 31
Parking: Street parking on Broadway and side streets, the beach pavilion lot, or the West Shore Neighborhood Center up the street
Hours can change — call ahead.
Get Milford’s best stories first — subscribe to the free Milford Voice newsletter
Got a tip? Email news@milfordvoice.com
| More from our Sponsored Partners |
| Milford Voice may be paid a small commission on partner offers at no cost to you. |
