4 minute read
YOUR NEIGHBORS A taste of childhood sweetness
A collab between Tyler’s Gourmet Ice Cream and the Lazy Lobster makes for a family-friendly spot.
PETRA RIVERA
STAFF WRITER
Milk, cream, sugar and a little bit of vanilla. These are the basic ingredients for everyone’s favorite frozen treat. Add in hard work, an easygoing spirit and a bunch of creativity, and you have the recipe for Tyler’s Gourmet Ice Cream.
Tyler’s, owned by the Alderson family, came to Longboat Key in 2017 and brought the sweetness of childhood with it. Michael Garey, co-owner of the shop and of the Lazy Lobster, calls it the best ice cream in the area.
“My favorite flavor is black raspberry, but I’m unique,” said Garey. “It’s a childhood memory. For years,
I had black raspberry ice cream at other places, but it was never really what I remembered as a child. The first time I had it at Tyler’s, I was like, ‘That’s it. That’s the black raspberry I remember as a child.’”
The First Scoop
The original location and headquarters of Tyler’s is in Bradenton and was opened in 1984 by Larry and Geri Tyler. In 2008, the Tylers put the shop up for sale, looking for a new family to continue their legacy. Around the same time, Rob Alderson and his wife, Laura, were living in Minnesota and longing for a change in their life. Dan Alderson, Rob’s father, was living in Bradenton and heard that Tyler’s was up for sale. He immediately told his son that the ice cream shop might be exactly what they were looking for.
“Everything just seemed to click,” said Rob Alderson. “You know, numbers-wise, size-wise. Everything just kind of lined up, and our kids were young enough to where if we were going to do something crazy, like move across the country and buy an ice cream shop, that was going to be the time to do it.”
After the Tylers trained them, the Aldersons took up the mission of the shop, which is to provide the best homemade ice cream in the area. Rob takes this to the next level with his creativity. He prioritizes being involved in the community, which has led to many partnerships with local restaurants and organizations.
“That’s actually how we got with Michael (Garey) and Bob (Fracalossy), they were clients of ours,” said Rob Alderson. “They were buying our ice cream for the Lazy Lobster restaurants and they approached us, ‘A spot opened up right next to us. We think it would be perfect for an
Most Memorable Customer
Rob Alderson: “When I first bought the shop, there was a couple, a husband and wife. And she suffered from dementia. They would come once a week. You could just see there was something in her eye that was recognizable when they came in for ice cream. It was like almost she almost got her head above the surface, for just a little bit, which I always thought was beautiful.” ice cream shop.’” This began the collaboration with the restaurant owned by Garey and Fracalossy, the Lazy Lobster. Originally, Garey had the idea to expand the bar of the restaurant into the space that had opened next door. Deciding this was too ambitious, they realized the one thing that Longboat was missing: a local ice cream shop.
“I used to get asked all the time, ‘Where should we go for ice cream?’” said Garey. “And it was almost 5 miles to the original Tyler’s in Bradenton and 7 miles to St. Armands.”
The Longboat Key location of Tyler’s is co-owned by Rob Alderson, Dan Alderson, Garey and Fracalossy. Rob makes the ice cream in the Bradenton location, and Dan delivers it to Longboat Key in the Tyler’s-branded car. Garey and Fracalossy handle staffing of the Longboat location and make sure day-today operations run smoothly.
Melting With Creativity
Rob Alderson marks the days on a
Star Wars-themed calendar when it’s time to make ice cream. Tyler’s has the basics: French vanilla, cookies and cream, mint chocolate, etc. but Rob prides himself on his seasonal flavors and creative collaborations with surrounding businesses.
The most recent seasonal flavor was apple pie for July 4. Some other staples are pumpkin pie for Halloween made from Libby’s pumpkin pie mix, eggnog, peanut brittle and cinnamon for Christmas and Guinness ice cream for St. Patrick’s Day.
“We worked with a few restaurants like Slickers,” said Rob. “I do a maple bourbon ice cream. So he gives me the bourbon. I make maple ice cream and mix in the bourbon with it. And then they can sell it since they have a liquor license. So it’s something that we can’t sell in-house, but they’re a bar, they can serve it.”
Alderson and Garey explained that it took some time for people to realize that Tyler’s was on Longboat, but once they did, an ice cream run became a part of their routine.
“You see the grandparents, and the parents and now the kids, three generations of people that have been coming to Tyler’s,” said Rob.
“It’s so great to see the rush next door after dinner,” said Garey. “It’s fun to watch the parents get their kids to behave through dinner with the dangling of the ice cream treat next door. It’s a good incentive to behave well in the restaurant. I think it’s made us a family destination.”
Flavorites
Top-seller:
French vanilla
Tyler’s original top-seller: Creamy Goodness, chocolate ice cream mixed with marshmallow cream and Oreos
Rob Alderson’s favorite: Lemon
Michael Garey’s favorite: Black raspberry
Former Universal Orlando Resort
CEO Bob Gault’s favorite: Chocolate
Malts
Paradise Center Executive Director Suzy Brenner’s favorite: Mississippi
Mud — coffee ice cream mixed with Oreos and fudge
Most committed regular: “Roger Brown comes in and has his chocolate milkshake every single day without fail, sometimes twice a day,” said Garey.
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