EASTHAMPTON — Where community members may have seen an empty storefront, Trista Nadolski saw opportunity. The result was the city’s newest ice cream spot, which is already bustling as residents seek some cold treats to beat the rising heat.

Since opening in late April, Sips and Scoops Cafe has witnessed a steady stream of customers who are excited to have a new local go-to spot for soft serve.

Drawn in by the cafe’s bright blue sign and the promise of ice cream, Nadolski said customers have been happy to see the many flavor options in store. The shop’s black raspberry flavor has been garnering particular attention, as it was a staple of the city’s former beloved ice cream shop of many decades: Tasty Top.

Tasty Top was demolished in 2022 to make way for a new Starbucks, after serving up sweet treats in Easthampton for more than 50 years. Now, Sips and Scoops might be the city’s new spot for summer hangouts and soft-serve snacks.

Ice cream wasn’t always in the cards for Nadolski. In fact, Sips and Scoops is her first business venture. Before embarking on her entrepreneurial journey, the Southampton resident worked as a home care nurse. But when she initially saw that what is now the shop’s location was up for sale, she saw a chance to try something new, become her own boss and fill a gap in the community dining scene.

She said that the location at 126 Northampton St. previously housed a cafe that had some ice cream, so she decided to lean into the space’s past.

“When we saw that it was for sale, we decided to buy it to have soft serve,” she said. “There’s not really any soft serve in town.”

But now, thanks to Sips and Scoops, there’s plentiful soft serve in Easthampton. Diners have their choice of vanilla, chocolate and black raspberry soft serve, as well as various “swirls” of those flavors. The shop also offers a variety of “hard” ice creams from Hershey, alongside pies, shakes, floats and fountain beverages.

In the future, Nadolski said she hopes to serve food such as hot dogs and sandwiches as well.

Even more popular than the black raspberry soft serve has been the banana pudding flavored hard ice cream. This flavor is made with banana ice cream, marshmallow and vanilla wafer cookie pieces.

The transition from home care nursing to business ownership has been an interesting one for Nadolski, who said that one of the main draws of entrepreneurship was getting to direct her own work and call the shots.

“It’s definitely different when you’re not working for someone, and you’re having to do everything,” she said.

But not only does she get to make all the decisions at Sips and Scoops — she also gets to work with her two daughters, Amelia Goldrup and Brianna Kirouac who work at and manage the cafe.

Sips and Scoops Cafe is currently open seven days a week from 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., but Nadolski said that as the summer nights begin to heat up, the shop has plans to stay open later, allowing community members to hang out, cool off and add a little sweetness to their days.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.