Three former Sundae School summer employees have put together a partnership to purchase both Sundae School Homemade Ice Cream locations in Dennisport and Harwich Port.
This deal was financed by Cambridge Savings Bank.
Coordinating the sale was Brad Kuhrtz and Craig Campbell of Commercial Realty Advisors, a real estate firm specializing in commercial properties and full-service business brokerage.
As teenagers, Michelle A. White, Michael J. Kelly and Robert C. DeMarco worked summers at Sundae School in Dennisport. Demarco and Kelley are longtime friends and business partners at Campanelli in Braintree.
White continued to work at Sundae School throughout the summers while working at the Boston College Educational Resource Center for 27 years. After retiring from BC, White returned to Sundae School full-time as the manager and continues to hold the position today.
White will become the operating partner in this new venture.
“I am excited and honored to be part of the team that is continuing on the Sundae School legacy and tradition,” said White. “Paul and Andrea [Endres] have been great friends and mentors for over four decades and I sincerely hope they enjoy their well-deserved retirement.”
Founded in 1976 by schoolteacher Paul Endres and his wife Andrea, Sundae School has been making premium, homemade ice cream five gallons at a time for 47 years. Living in Milton at the time and looking to spend summers on Cape Cod, the Endres began with the goal to make high quality ice cream using the freshest local ingredients. The business became so popular that the Endres decided to relocate to the Cape full time. All five of their children worked in the business, with son Michael managing the Harwich Port Store for many years. Many of the grandchildren could be found working at both locations over the summers.
In May 1978, Sundae School moved into the renovated Wixon Barn in Dennisport. Nathaniel Wixon was a well-respected fisherman and used the barn to dry and store fishing net. Wanting to stay true to the history of the barn as well as to quaint Cape Cod the Endres’ mindfully created an old-fashioned ice cream parlor that would bring back memories of the past while inspiring the creation of new ones. Over 100 years old, the marble soda fountain was sourced from the Parkway Pharmacy in Milton and the ice cream parlor is filled with nostalgic memorabilia.
As demand for Sundae School’s premium ice cream grew, a second location in Harwich Port opened in May 1998. Growth continued through the year-round sale of pre-packed quarts at Ring Brothers Market in South Dennis, Dennis Public Market in Dennis and multiple Cape restaurants and venues.
In 2021, Sundae School won WBZ Boston’s “Ice Cream Social” contest, declaring their homemade ice cream “the ultimate favorite” statewide. In 2009, Sundae School was featured on Samantha Brown’s “Great Weekends” on the Travel Channel. Throughout the years, Sundae School has been recognized in numerous publications such as USA Today, Yankee Magazine, Cape Cod Life, Food and Wine, The Boston Globe, Martha Stewart Living, The Boston Herald and The Cape Cod Times.
The new owners plan to keep all the traditions of the first 47 years and build on them to make the future Sundae School even better.
