Vegan and gluten-free dessert lovers rejoice. Mainely Custard, Freeport’s go-to spot for homemade custard and ice cream on Route 1, has a new owner who is expanding its vegan and gluten-free options to better cater to people with allergies and food sensitivities.

The shop, which opened 15 years ago, is now owned by a Scarborough businessman, Ben Sholl, who said part of the reason he is excited to provide allergy-friendly, all-natural custard and ice cream is because he has a 12-year-old daughter who has celiac disease, an autoimmune condition that leads to small intestine damage when a person eats gluten.

According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, the disease is estimated to impact one in 100 people around the world, but less than a third are properly diagnosed. The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics notes that in 2021, 6.2% of adults had a food allergy.

Mainely Custard was previously owned by Jaime Shaw and Joseph Christopher. Shaw and Christopher were not planning on selling the shop when Sholl first approached them about buying it, but eventually came around to the idea, Sholl said.

The shop serves gluten-free custard and ice cream for customers who don’t want gluten, and vegan ice cream for those who want to avoid dairy or other animal products (custard contains egg and can’t be vegan). Those without allergies are also welcome to enjoy the treats.

Sholl said that patrons will drive from places like Brunswick and even Kennebunk to enjoy a vegan or gluten-free treat that isn’t “plain Jane.”

The menu has some staple flavors like chocolate, strawberry, vanilla and coffee – but new flavors rotate in and out weekly and are announced on the business’s social media page and website. Additionally, the business is experimenting with three new toppings, including a vegan Heath bar.

Vegan options black raspberry chocolate chip and toasted coconut join the menu, along with this seasonal blueberry cone at Mainely Custard in Freeport, which is under new ownership. Contributed / Mainely Custard

Gluten-free and vegan options were a focus of the last owners as well, according to Sholl, but under his ownership he plans to expand the toppings offerings and eventually phase out gluten in them to heighten safety.

Having both gluten-free and regular ice cream toppings and cones “can create the small risk that a staff person makes a mistake and gives someone who’s celiac a regular cone,” he said. They anticipate offering a gluten-free waffle cone soon.

Sholl said that officially the store must say that the custard and ice cream are made in a place where it could come into contact with dairy or gluten, but the team tries hard to make things as safe as possible.

The store performs a multiple-hour cleaning process twice a week on its equipment, “where every piece and gasket that comes into contact with the custard is not only rinsed – it’s rinsed, washed, rinsed and sanitized, and then it’s put back together and sanitized again,” he said. “So there’s really very little chance that there would ever be any micro exposures to dairy or gluten in our place.”

Another focus for Sholl is phasing out any artificial flavors or dyes in his products. He’s committed to making sure the ingredients they are using are whole and natural, using fresh blueberries instead of blueberry paste or concentrate, for example.

Sholl said that with these investments in quality, prices may increase. He said his research on ice cream shops in Maine found that generally Mainely Custard’s pricing is about 25% lower than what he sees elsewhere. So he’s considering implementing what he calls a modest price increase. He said, for example, a single hard scoop in a cone, currently $5, will be either $5.75 or $6 in the future. He said he’s interested in starting a loyalty program for patrons who have been coming to the store for many years so they can keep paying the original prices.

Sholl was previously a middle school science teacher in Portland and Boston but left education in 2005 and became a businessman. He has owned and sold multiple businesses, including a Merry Maids franchise. He said that he hopes to pass Mainely Custard on to his six children.