We’re growing
You may have read the news making the rounds that we’re expanding our shop to include the space next door (119 Market, formerly occupied by Playworks). We’re very excited to add a pastry case, a dedicated coffee station, another register, and extra seating—including private party space. (In boring news, we’re also adding more dry storage space and will finally move our desk out of the kitchen staff’s way, into a proper office.)
Most of the details are in the press release we just sent out (pasted in below), so we don’t need to go into it all. We just wanted to announce it on our own site, where we can take comments— and preemptively answer some questions.
First: the party room will seat around 25 people. It’s not all of the new seating space, so even when it’s in use we’ll be able to accommodate more customers than we can now. It’s a section that can be separated off by a curtain and a sliding wooden panel thingy. Trust us, it’s gonna be cooler than we just made it sound. We’re working on the details of pricing and reservations, which we’ll announce closer to the reopening date.
Second: we don’t know exactly when we’ll be closed. There’s construction to do in the existing space and in the new part, plus we have to make a big hole in a brick wall to bring them together. We anticipate that the entire project will take around 2 months. But having talked with our contractor and architect, we think they can arrange the work in phases that enable us to stay open for more than half of it. So we’ll be starting in January but we may not be closed until sometime in February. We will of course alert the media again when we know the exact closing and reopening dates.
Thanks for all your support, thanks for reading, and feel free to ask questions or leave feedback in the comments. Press release follows.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2014
The Parlour Expansion a Treat for Downtown Durham
DURHAM, NC — Beloved downtown Durham ice cream shop The Parlour will expand into the former Playworks space next door to add an additional 1,000 square feet. The expansion will allow the shop to serve more people, expand the menu, and accommodate events. The Parlour, which currently seats around 24 guests, will grow to seat almost 60. Owners Vanessa and Yoni Mazuz cited busy foot traffic and the continued growth of downtown Durham as key reasons to expand on the current location:
“People have asked us to open additional locations. That’s still a future possibility, but right now our loyal following keeps us busy most of the year where we are—and downtown Durham is clearly still growing,” said Yoni. “We want to be able to accommodate all the additional residents, workers, and visitors flocking here. We really enjoy being part of the downtown community. Besides our customers, all the support from our landlords at Self-Help and from neighboring businesses makes the decision to expand right here an easy one.”
With the addition of a second cash register, guests can expect shorter waits and quicker lines from the expanded shop. The Parlour will accommodate special events like baby showers, bridal showers and company parties with a new private room. Guests can look forward to seeing more non-frozen desserts and a broader coffee offering on the shop’s already extensive menu.
“Our new pastry case and display will allow us to stock a much wider variety of confections, from vegan chocolate mousse to salted caramel pots de creme. We will also have room in our case to offer pre-packed hot fudge and caramel sauce to customers who want to make sundaes at home,” said Vanessa. “With a beautiful new coffee station, we’ll be able to produce consistent, delicious coffee drinks without a wait, and we’ll be able to showcase seasonal beans from our coffee partner, Carrboro Coffee Roasters. We’ll also be able to offer a greater variety of hot drinks to accompany our pastries in the colder months.”
The Parlour has hired Center Studio Architecture and Kennedy Building Company for the expansion project which was financed through a loan from SunTrust. Construction will commence in early January. The Parlour hopes to be closed for just a few weeks; details on the exact timing of the renovation and re-opening is forthcoming.
About The Parlour
The Parlour started out as a modified mini school bus, serving alongside some of the Triangle’s favorite food trucks. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, The Parlour opened at 117 Market St. in April 2013, right by the Bull statue downtown. The shop is open seven days a week; the bus is available for private events. For more information visit theparlourdurham.com or email moc.mahrudruolrapehtnull@maerceci.
