People flock to eat ice cream at this scenic CT farm. A patron says it’s a ‘growing secret’

At Kriz Farm Ice Cream the surroundings are as yummy as the cones, shakes, floats and banana splits.

It’s a place people travel to from throughout Connecticut to eat ice cream and take in the wide open fields, big sky, working farm activity, draft horses in summer.

“Everybody says it’s peaceful and relaxing here,” said Wendy Kriz who co-owns the ice cream store on the farm with husband, Timmy Kriz. “I have some couples who come all the way from New Jersey because they love the environment.”

People come from far and wide to eat ice cream at this scenic CT farm. A patron called the taste and ambiance a ‘growing secret’

The ice cream isn’t made at the farm, as is the case at most ice cream shops, but is carefully chosen from area suppliers by Wendy Kriz.

“I try the ice creams from all the suppliers and it hasn’t been good for my waistline,” she said, with a chuckle.

Kriz Farm Ice Cream has all the standard flavors, but also rotates specialties ice creams such as sea salt caramel truffle, peanut butter pie, toasted coconut, cannoli and amaretto cherry.

One customer called this year at the season’s start in early April to make sure they still carry blackberry lemon bar ice cream, confessing he has ” a problem” and couldn’t do without it, Wendy Kriz said.

“We have a lot of very popular specialty flavors that I change up,” Wendy Kriz said. “I try to keep it interesting.”

Guests rave online about the taste and ambiance, with one person referring to Kriz Farm Ice Cream as a “growing secret.”

One reviewer wrote that she loved the “campfire s’mores flavor,” and commented: “Love this place. Last visit, I went after sunset and was greeted by a horse sticking its head over the fence. A pleasant surprise in the darkness.”

Another wrote that the ice cream “was so amazing, smooth, and delicious.”

Timmy Kriz, a farrier and eighth-generation farmer, runs the farm along with his son, farrier son, Cody, 31.

Kriz Farm is located at 13 Bear Hill Road, Bethany, a town 20 minutes from Yale University and New Haven, 40 minutes from Hartford, 20 minutes from Waterbury, and full of hiking trails.

It’s a 60-acre private draft horse farm that’s been in the family since 1959.

Part of the farm’s business is derived from driving wagons with the horses for weddings, funerals, parties and other events.

The couple married about 11 years ago and blended their families.

Four years ago Wendy Kriz left her career as a salesperson in big pharma to fulfill she and Timmy’s dream of opening an ice cream store on the farm.

“I love having my own business, getting to meet with customers, getting to know people, their different stories,” she said.

The ice cream is housed in a new construction wooden building with red trim and ordering windows.

Nearby, they’ve created a seating area of grouped park benches bearing the Kriz name.

In another direction are long benches with red and yellow pinwheels spinning in old, metal milk containers. The kids love the pinwheels as well as the ducks in a nearby pond.

It’s a working farm so visitors see all kinds of vehicles in action, such as trucks and tractors.

Kriz Farm Ice Cream and its breathtaking ambiance attract a wide audience.

In addition to the individuals, couples, families, Kriz Farm Ice Cream, with all its surrounding land, has become a meeting place for for folks after milestone events.

It’s also a place where people host corporate team meetings, political party events, car clubs, and motorcycle clubs.

“We’ve been very busy. It’s a good destination kind of facility,” she said. “We’re pretty blessed.”

Wendy Kriz holds special activities, including recently with an eclipse viewing party.

During the winter there are cut Christmas trees for sale, hot chocolate, apple cider, and horse drawn wagon rides.

The flavor selection is more limited this time of year, but in summer they carry 40 different flavors and all kinds of toppings year round.

They also have dairy-free and gluten-free options, as well as no sugar added flavors.

The ice cream is open seven days a week from noon to 8 p.m.