Williamstown's Lickety Split Closes

By Phyllis McGuireSpecial to iBerkshires
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Residents craving ice cream were greeted with this sign in the window of Lickety Split since Nov. 1.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Rumors began flying this summer but now what the Williams College community and town folk dreaded has come. Lickety Split on Spring Street has closed.

The beloved ice cream shop closed its doors at the end of October but owner Robin Kanelos said she expects the restaurant to reopen in a new location. However, that location is still unknown after the Kanelos' lease expired.

Kanelos did not wish to expand further on the shop's closing but when contacted in September, she said she intended to return to Spring Street. She declined to reveal what steps, if any, she is taking in that direction nor would she say why she was not renewing her lease or if she had even been given an opportunity to do so. The building's owner, Mark Paresky, has not been available to comment.

Recently, Kanelos mentioned that Williams College is helping her find a space to reopen Lickety Space. The only available space on Spring Street as of this moment is 32 Spring St., which was occupied by McClelland's until 2009.  But rumor has it that something else may be opening up on the street.

Loyal patrons of  Lickety Split, the shop best known for its delicious ice cream, including the popular Purple Cow flavor, are more than disappointed that their supply has literally been cut off. One Williams student spoke of the closing of the shop as an "atrocity" and the wife of a faculty member has vowed not to patronize any other ice cream vendors on the street.


The Lickety Split location at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is still open.

In September, Kanelos made it clear that since she assumed ownership of the Williamstown Lickety Split eleven years ago, she has operated the business independently of Lickety Split at Mass MoCA.  

"My sister and her husband own the Lickety Split at Mass MoCA," she said.
 
Though mystery continues to shroud the fate of the cozy eatery that offered snacks, soups, sandwiches and salads as well as ice cream, iBerkshires will be sleuthing until it can report the opening of a re-incarnated Lickety Split.


*iBerkshires reporter Andy McKeever also contributed to this article.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Williamstown Planning Board, Consultants Discuss Subdivision Bylaw

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board met recently with consultants who are helping the body develop amendments to the town's subdivision bylaw.
 
In a conversation set to continue at a special Planning Board meeting on Tuesday, April 28, representatives of Northampton architecture and civil engineering firms Dodson and Flinker and Berkshire Design Group outlined some of the decision points for the board as it develops a major revision of the bylaw.
 
Unlike the zoning bylaw, for which the Planning Board makes recommendations to town meeting, the subdivision bylaw is under the direct authority of the five-member elected board.
 
The Subdivision Control Law, Article 170 in the town code, was first adopted by the Planning Board in 1959. The current board is looking to do the first major revision to the rules that "guide the development of land into lots served with adequate roads and utilities," since 1993.
 
The town hired the Northampton consultants with the proceeds of a grant administered by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.
 
Dillon Sussman, a senior associate at Dodson and Flinker, laid out the scope of the project and the objectives of the board as conveyed to the consultants.
 
"What we understand of your goals for the project is to make small subdivision projects more economically feasible," Sussman said. "We've heard that you think that small subdivision projects are more likely … that there's not much land remaining [in Williamstown] for large projects. And you've had some experience with a small subdivision project that was difficult to fit in your current subdivision regulations."
 
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