Local Legends: Dairy Twist

by Olivia DeMinico and Rowan Donlon

One of Pembroke’s oldest and sweetest gems is Dairy Twist, a local ice cream shop off Route 53, where people from all over the South Shore come to get a taste of the delicious ice cream. The Dairy Twist has since taken on new ownership from Cheryl and Jack Nolet to family friends, Jonathan and Katelyn Hopfgarten. Jonathan grew up in Kingston, Massachusetts, and went to UMass Amherst where he studied landscape, architecture, and design. The Hopfgarten’s have dabbled in many different careers, from owning a tattoo removal company to working as a fire-fighter/paramedic. Along with working/owning Dairy Twist, Katelyn is a full-time X-ray technologist. We had the chance to sit down and talk to Jonathan about what it has been like owning Dairy Twist and he had many things to say. 

Q: Why did you buy the Dairy Twist?

A: “ I went to school with Shawn, the son of the previous owners Jack and Cheryl, and when we were in our second year he introduced himself to me and asked me to come work at The Dairy Twist since his mom had just bought it. They needed some help, so I helped them move down here in Pembroke from Weymouth and I was the first employee here that wasn’t a part of the family. I always gave Jack a hard time, constantly nagging him that if he was ever going to sell The Dairy Twist, to keep me posted. So, when they decided to retire, the joke became a reality.”

Q: What about the Diary Twist have you kept the same and what have you changed?

A:  “We honestly kept every single thing, except we gave the shop a little makeover by updating the signs, repaving the road, and inserted steel poles to keep everybody safe. I also added the big chair out front. As far as changing, I didn’t get rid of any flavors or specialty sundaes. As far as change goes, we kept everything the same but just built upon it. For instance, we have added a lot of new flavors, both hard and soft serve ice cream, as well as added more desserts for the specialty sundaes like the apple cider donut sundae. I never wanted to change a thing about The Dairy Twist because all you have to do is look at the lines outside and see for yourself that obviously there is nothing that needs to be changed.”

Q: What’s your favorite part about owning Diary Twist?

A: “ My favorite part about owning the shop is the fact that I can talk to everybody all day long. The other part has to do with the atmosphere of my previous job. I went from being a firefighter for twelve years and I saw most people on their worst day, whereas working here, ninety-nine percent of people have a smile on their faces because they are excited to get ice cream.”

Q: What are some obstacles that you have gone through this season and how did you face them?

A: “ From working here when I was younger, I already knew a lot about the business and I knew employee payroll, ordering ice cream, stuff like that. I wasn’t afraid of these things, but it did become pretty difficult to know exactly what items I had to order on certain days. I constantly had to think ahead of what people were going to eat this week and I only had so much room to store a certain amount of extra ice cream. Also, figuring out exactly how many people to have one each night so there aren't too many people on or too little to make it work.” 

Dairy Twist is open 7 days a week, 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, and 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. If you’re craving a sweet treat or fall-themed sundae, make sure to stop by before the last day on October 29. The Diary Twist will be giving out free ice cream on the last day, as is the tradition every year. They have a delicious apple cider donut sundae that has been a huge hit! Take a picture in the ginormous Adirondack chair! You’ll have a great time, guaranteed!