Amid heat wave, short-staffed Gifford's closes Auburn ice cream stand for season
Courtesy / Gifford's via Facebook
The Gifford's Famous Ice Cream store at 910 Minot Ave., Auburn, closed early for the season on Sunday due to staffing shortages.
In a familiar sign of the times, a popular Androscoggin County ice cream shop has already shuttered for the season because of staffing shortages — at the height of summer dog days.
Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream, a family-owned ice cream maker based in Skowhegan, served up its last scoop for 2022 in Auburn, at 910 Minot Ave., on Sunday at 9 p.m.
In a Facebook post Monday, the company said, “Like many businesses around the country and here in Maine, we have been working through significant staffing difficulties this summer, and our Auburn stand has proven to be the most challenging.
“At Gifford’s, we care greatly about the customer experience we provide at our family-owned stands, and right now, without adequate staffing, that experience doesn’t meet our standards in Auburn."
The company employs about 40 people year-round and over 120 during the summer months. It's not clear how many workers may be affected by the early closure of the Auburn branch.
Gifford's also operates retail stands in Bangor, Farmington, Skowhegan and Waterville. The company scoops a total of 1 million ice cream cones a year at the retail locations, which date to 1980, and sells 2 million gallons of ice cream annually, including through grocery stores, independent ice cream shops, colleges and restaurants.
Gifford's is headed by Lindsay Skilling, a 2016 Mainebiz "Woman to Watch" and a fifth-generation member of the Gifford family. She joined the business in the late 2000s, became general manager in 2012, and was named CEO in 2016.
Commenting on the closure, the company said, "We know this will be a disappointment to many in the community, and we are working hard to find a creative solution so that we can serve Gifford’s HomeMaine ice cream in the area.
"Our hope is to host a series of pop-ups with our new mobile Scoop Shack at various locations in the local community."
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