Page 14 - Valley Table - Summer 2023

Cherries also serves gourmet fruit popsicles, like Key lime and blueberry basil.
d uring the gloom of early
pandemic days, Jolene Delisle and
Lawrence O’Toole found moments of happiness at Cherries Ice Cream Bar & Grill. The landmark shop in Stone Ridge was their haven during shutdowns and one of the few spots they could take their young children when social distancing was a thing. As newcomers to the area—they, with their then
1- and 3-year-old kids, moved from the Upper West Side to Kerhonkson in January 2020— the couple says that Cherries offered that deep community connection they were craving.
“During quarantine, we
missed seeing neighbors out the window or just people walking around. Since we live on a private road, we didn’t even see cars driving by,” recalls Delisle. “One of the few places consistently open was Cherries. We really enjoyed the casual, roadside-friendly vibe.” When word got out nearly two years later that Cherries owner Alyson Reidy had put the property on the market, Delisle and O’Toole jumped at the opportunity to own the shop they’d grown
to love.
“I always said to close
friends that if Cherries ever goes up for sale, we should buy it,” says Delisle, the founder and creative director of The Working Assembly, a successful Manhattan-based branding agency. “When the property was listed, my friends
20 TheValleyTable | June—August2023
Cherries
An instantly popular ice
cream stand is back for its
second season—and it’s
even better than before.
BY PAULA ANN MITCHELL
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHERRIES
Table Talk