By Dawn De Busk 

Staff Writer 

NAPLES— It’s hard to frown when there is ice cream around. 

“Giving ice cream to kids and seeing the pure joy and happiness on their faces as you hand the ice cream out the window makes it worth it,” Amanda DeCoster said. 

“Sometimes, the adults are just as excited as a five-year-old,” she said. 

“Nobody is ever unhappy. Nobody is ever cranky,” Ross DeCoster said.  

Amanda added, “The worst thing that happens is a kid drops their ice cream, cries, and then gets another one.”

The same people who have been running the Lakeside Dairy Bar for the past two summers have opened up C’s Ice Cream Stand. That new business is located in the building next to Sun Sports+ directly on the Naples Causeway.

“It’s the same people, the same product, the same speed. They don’t have to wait in line up there [Lakeside Dairy Bar] when they can walk down here,” Ross said. 

“We carry Gifford’s. It is the same in both places. I am not ashamed to say it,” he said.

Amanda explained why Gifford’s is preferred. 

“We like that it’s made in Maine. The tourists love that. They ask where it’s made and when we say Maine. They like that,” she said. 

C’s Ice Cream Stand will offer only hard ice cream while Lakeside Dairy Bar will carry both hard ice cream and soft serve. 

“We have a nice sign outside that says if you’re looking for soft serve visit our friends up there. That way they don’t wait in line,” Ross said. 

The couple met in the Virgin Islands, where both of them had jobs in the food service industry. After the hurricane season in 2017, they moved to Maine because Ross had ties here. 

Ross grew up in Raymond, and had lived in surrounding towns along the Route 302 corridor at different times in his life. He worked at Sydney’s and at Sunday River. 

In August 2021, the owners of the Sun Sports+ approached the DeCosters and asked if they wanted to lease the building that was formerly Causeway Dairy Bar. 

“We knew late last summer that the opportunity to rent the space was going to happen. We thought we’d be fools not to take the opportunity,” he said. 

Last Tuesday, the health inspector came and gave them the thumbs-up. The next day the ice cream order was delivered, allowing C’s to be open during the first 80 degrees days in May.  

Once the hours increase for the summer, the number of employees will increase too. 

“We have a dozen-and-a-half employees on paper ready to go. We have some high school kids, some college students,” Ross said. “We have got some good staffing. They are all local kids.”

Sometimes, customers get a little bit overwhelmed when they see the flavor board. So, they seek some guidance by asking, ‘What is your favorite?’

“I can’t have a favorite flavor because there are so many good ones,” Amanda said. “I have a top five: Ice cream for cake, peanut butter caramel cookie dough, peanut butter pie, sea salt and caramel truffle, and muddy boots — which is vanilla, caramel and brownie pieces.”

Ross shook his head, saying he and his wife had very different ice cream preferences.  

“The Maine wild blueberry is my favorite. Toasted coconut — that is close second,” he said. 

For people seeking few calories or avoiding dairy, there are dairy-free sorbets and a couple frozen yogurts. There is a vanilla raspberry with no sugar added that is an awesome option for diabetics. 

“We carry those because we want to accommodate everyone’s tastes and restrictions. They should be able to enjoy ice cream or something similar,” Amanda said.

Plus, both ice cream businesses cater to the four-legged family members by offering pup cups. 

“Some dogs walk by and just take a left. They know,” Ross said. “Here, we throw a Milk-Bone on top of the hard ice cream.”