A South Shore ice cream staple, Nona’s Homemade, has officially opened their new location at 31 Main Street in Hingham, MA, formerly the home of Carolann’s. Nona’s was established in 2001, and now has three locations on the South Shore: the new Hingham location (a few doors down from the former location), Scituate Harbor, and at Previte’s Marketplace in Hanover. After undergoing renovations and construction for a while, Nona’s re-opened to the public at 31 Main St. Their “soft opening” happened in mid-October, but they hope to have a more “grand opening” in the future once they officially finish renovating the space.
One of the most notable aspects of the new space is its size. HHS Junior Mia Pizzelli makes note of this and says, “I like it [the new location] and it’s a lot bigger, the other one used to get so crammed and the line would be out the door!” Compared to the old space, this new building is a major upgrade and is better equipped to handle Nona’s many customers. With forty-five seats and four times the square footage of the previous location, customers can choose to sit at booths, tables, or even sit on a stool at the new coffee bar. Manager Sara Dipesa and Assistant Manager Mia Donahue, shared with the Harborlight their excitement that customers already have taken advantage of the new layout to either hangout out with friends or even get some work done. Despite only being open to the public for only a few weeks, the new space has quickly grown into a fantastic gathering place for the community. HHS Junior, Liana Melgoza, shares, “I love the new location so much, even though it’s not as nostalgic as the old one, it’s still really cute and it’s much bigger.”
With many notable features, there is a window looking into their in-house ice cream factory production space that includes two huge walk-in freezers which the managers say is a major upgrade compared to the smaller space they were forced to work with in the past. This window is a really fun way to give customers the “inside scoop” into how their favorite ice cream is made. The focal point of the store would have to be the neon sign on the back purple and white striped wall that reads, “Calm Down it’s only Ice Cream,” or maybe the huge sky light that illuminates the center of the store. HHS Junior, Kwaku Oppong, when asked about his thoughts on the new location, says, “It’s so cool, it has a good vibe to it and the new store makes me want to go there more now. It is so much better than the old one because the old store was cramped.”
Nona’s has not only expanded and re-designed their store space, they have also expanded their menu offerings. With their new coffee bar, Nona’s is now offering coffee, drip coffee, espresso drinks, and iced coffee in partnership with the locally roasted coffee brand, Ack Roasters, based in Scituate, MA. In addition to coffee, they are offering delicious pastries and very soon will be offering gelato in addition to ice cream and ice cream cakes. They also hope to be offering some Nona’s merchandise in the near future. When asked about her thoughts on the new menu, HHS Junior, Dee Sweeney, explains, “I have yet to try the coffee but I’m excited, I have always loved Nona’s ice cream and I’m so glad that it hasn’t changed.”
Dipesa and Donahue shared that they are just really excited to be back! It is safe to say from the community turnout so far that Hingham is also happy that their favorite ice-cream shop is back in business.
You can find updates and more information on their different locations on their website: https://www.nonasicecream.com/ and on their Instagram @nonashomemade
Hingham Location:
Hingham Square
31 Main Street, Hingham, MA 02043
781-749-3999
Fall Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 8am – 9pm
Friday & Saturday: 8am – 10pm
