LEONARDTOWN — Visitors to the Leonardtown Wharf next spring should find a new ice cream stand in the park’s concession building, run by two brothers who already operate a restaurant in town and a cookie shop in California.
The Leonardtown Town Council voted Nov. 9 to award the Wharf food vendor contract to Leonardtown Ice Cream Company, a new venture from Ben and Jack MacDonald. The brothers own Mac’s Tap & Table on Point Lookout Road in Leonardtown and the Crumbl Cookies store in California, Ben MacDonald told the council.
The stand is not open, and it will not be this year. The proposal calls for a season running from April through October.
Terms of the deal
The company will pay the town the required rent of $400 a month to help cover the cost of running the concession building, and it offered a one-time $500 fee on top of that, town staff said. Over a seven-month season, that comes to $3,300.
The town issued a public request for proposals in September and advertised it in the County Times, on the town website, at Leonardtown Business Association meetings and on social media, staff said. Two proposals came in. The current vendor was notified and chose not to bid.
The second proposal, from a nonprofit-style organization, arrived a few days after the deadline and offered only the required rent, staff said, while describing it as a good proposal with a different structure. Staff recommended Leonardtown Ice Cream Company.
The motion to award the contract passed on a voice vote, with no opposition voiced.
What will be served
The stand plans to offer both self-serve and hand-scooped ice cream supplied by Always Ice Cream Company, the Annapolis-based maker that has expanded to several Maryland locations, including Prince Frederick. MacDonald said the supplier is willing to work with the brothers on a flavor unique to Leonardtown.
“I think it’s the best part of the town, to be honest with you,” MacDonald said of the Wharf. He said the brothers want to make the stand a draw that brings people down the hill to the waterfront.
The milkshakes that Mac’s is becoming known for will stay at the restaurant, he said in answer to a council member’s question. Asked whether food would follow, MacDonald said ice cream is the starting point and the brothers will gauge demand and add what the town allows. Staff noted that the building is small and that health department rules govern what can be prepared there, down to hot chocolate. The town has added a screen over the service window and made other improvements.
The name Leonardtown Ice Cream Company is expected to go on the building. MacDonald also said the brothers are open to starting earlier than April if a large event is scheduled in March.
A waterfront the town keeps building on
The concession is a small piece of a larger effort to bring more activity to the foot of Washington Street. The town has leased the Wharf’s food stand to seasonal vendors for years, and it has separately sought developers for a food hall called The IceHouse on a waterfront parcel there.
In January the state listed expanded parking at Leonardtown Wharf Public Park among community development projects proposed for funding in Southern Maryland. And last month the town bought a $25,000 trolley for events and tours.
At the same meeting, council members signaled support for raising the fee the town charges downtown projects that cannot supply their own parking, from $1,200 to about $12,000 per space. That proposal is due back as a resolution in December.
