It’s an age old question: Chocolate or vanilla? The answer to this requires a response from an expert, and Morgan Bredeau may be as close to an expert as the Boothbay region may have. Bredeau has managed the Downeast Ice Cream Factory for 12 years. So the answer is “vanilla in a plain cone, but chocolate isn’t far behind,” she said. 

And for those wanting a different flavor, the business has 70 more flavors, all made locally. The Factory began over four decades ago making and selling ice cream at 1 By Way in Boothbay Harbor. But this year, ice cream lovers can enjoy a cone a little earlier and at more locations. The Downeast Ice Cream Factory opened April 1 in the Meadow Mall as a second location.

Factory officials have considered a second location for years. The new site is in a space previously occupied by the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library and sits beside the Boothbay House of Pizza. The Factory will make its ice cream and serve as many as 50 flavors in the new location.

 “There are a couple reasons for the new site,” said owner Bob Bua who bought the business last year. “It makes making ice cream a lot easier. Also, it allows us to extend the ice cream making season beyond the summer. So we’re looking at staying open through Gardens Aglow. So the Boothbay region can enjoy homemade ice cream made locally for three or three and half seasons.”

Bua was a seasonal resident looking for a business opportunity last year when he bought the business. “We owned a house here for years and were looking for a business opportunity to stay here longer and become a bigger part of the community,” he said. “And this seems to have fit the bill.”

The new location will stay open longer Wednesday through Saturday accommodating movie-goers at the nearby Harbor Theater. Sunday through Tuesday, the Factory is open noon to 7 p.m., and from Wednesday to Saturday, it’s open noon to 10 p.m.  

In her 12 years, Bredeau said the most challenging aspect of the business is staying ahead of the demand for homemade ice cream. She estimates the Factory is making ice cream eight hours per day. “The lines are outside the door and down the street so keeping up is our biggest challenge,” she said. “Some days we sell out of a flavor which puts a lot of stress on even the most experienced ice cream maker.”

The Factory's original location at 1 By Way opens on its traditional date of Mother’s Day, Sunday May 12.