Business & Tech

Buy Fresh, Buy Local Means Serving More than Homemade Treats at Petrucci's

The family behind the landmark ice cream store says thinking locally has made all the difference in his success.

John and Mary Colarusso take the idea of buy fresh, buy local to heart.
To the owners of Petrucci's Ice Cream and Water Ice on Nutt Road that means getting their licks in in the ice cream business.  Owner John Colarusso says he tries to make things in his shop whenever possible. It's better for his products and better for the local economy.

Why? His staff sells homemade waffle cones. That means someone local gets paid to make them in his ice cream store and the customers get a fresher product. Colarusso says they also made the cones a size that makes sense. It's generous but small enough so that the ice cream doesn't disappear leaving a big empty commercially-made cone to munch on.

When it comes to soft ice cream, Colarusso says he uses a mix made y local farmers and it's actual soft ice cream... not just "soft serve" (note the word ice cream is missing from most places soft cones).  He says the difference is the butterfat content. There's more butterfat in his soft ice cream.  That makes it creamier and you'll notice the difference if you're used to fast food soft-serve cones.

Want more?  How about homemade Ice Cream Chipwiches?  They make them fresh right in the store. Premium ice cream between two homemade chocolate chip cookies.

They also make and sell their own fresh cotton candy at Petrucci's.  Colarusso says most people won't come in just for cotton candy, but they'll buy while they're there picking up a homemade ice cream pizza pie.

What's the signature homemade item at Petrucci's?  Colarusso doesn't hesitate when he starts to brag about the water ice they make right in the store.  Why does that matter so much?  "It's creamier than anything you can get that was made in a factory, frozen solid and shipped to a store," he explains.

Colarusso says the real key to his success over 16 years in selling frozen treats in Phoenixville has been investing his time in the community.  When he moved his store to its current location from a few blocks away, he transformed a junk yard into a clean space that features a brightly colored pink patio and a huge mural of Phoenixville created by local students.  At the center of his mural's world is Petrucci's of course. But more importantly it's about Phoenixville.



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