Kelly’s Creamery aces summertime fun with new mini-golf course

DOVER PLAINS — On top of savoring a frozen sweet treat from the creamery on a sweltering summer day and grabbing a tasty bite from the food truck next door, customers can delight in 18 holes of “put-put” now that a new mini-golf course has been installed at Kelly’s Creamery in Dover Plains.

Located at 3202 Route 22 across from the Cumberland Farms, Kelly and Steve Cervino opened the popular ice-cream hot spot in the summer of 2019, and the creamery has since become a favorite for locals of all ages craving ice cream and Italian ices in just about every flavor under the sun. 

For their second summer in business, the Cervinos added Kelly’s Husband’s Truck, a food truck that offers a mouth-watering menu of specialty burgers, hot dogs, brats, vegetarian sandwiches and more. It can all be enjoyed inside or out, on their many picnic tables under twinkling lights.

As far as how a mini-golf course plays into their business plan, Kelly said, “We knew this is what we wanted to do because we have the space back here, so I would say we started planning it last summer right after the food truck was up and running.”

Bringing their vision to life, the couple hired Native Landscapes in Pawling, whom Kelly said was with them “every step of the way bringing it to what it is today.” 

Though they had to wait until after winter ended and the temperature reached 60 degrees, Native Landscapes quickly began working on turning the new addition into a reality this spring. Kelly said their vision was to have the golf course be very natural, so Native Landscapes installed a waterfall in the center of the course along with a birdhouse, koi pond and a selection of native plants and trees. Starting this spring and finishing this summer, the golf course was completed within a three- to four-month period.

Kelly also worked with a local artist from Hudson Valley Handwritten to create a mural on the shed at the far end of the course. As customers pass the mural, they can snap photos of themselves in front of it with the words “Let’s Par-Tee” on it, a clever play on a common golf phrase.

Turning to the 18-hole course, Kelly said it’s pretty challenging, making it fun for adults as well as children.

“It’s not an easy course,” she said. “We were thinking you hand little kids a club and a ball and they have fun no matter what, but we wanted teenagers and adults to have fun as well.”

Mini-golf opened at Kelly’s Creamery in June and has been drawing a crowd ever since. 

Its hours of operation are Sundays though Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

Those ages 10 and up can play for $8 while children ages 4 through 10 can play for $6; children ages 4 and under can play free of charge.

“The community has been awesome since the beginning with us,” said Kelly. “Everybody is so appreciative of what we’ve done here, what we’ve created for families. A lot of the locals come here every week but we also get a lot of people because we’re here on Route 22.

“I just think it’s a great addition,” she added. “I think it’s a really good final piece to what we have going on here because we started with the creamery and that took off and it went really well, and we decided last summer with the food truck and then we wondered what we could do [next]… I would just say it brings all of this together: They’ll get food from the truck, play a round of mini-golf and then grab an ice cream.”

Looking to keep the putt-putt course open and active for as long as possible, Kelly said they’re planning to hold future fundraisers at the mini-golf course, possibly with Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue, which is also located in Dover, and also for the Dover Union Free School District, which Dover town Supervisor Richard Yeno is trying to plan at the moment. 

Come the first week of October, Kelly said they’ll have the course decorated for Halloween to make it festive for the community along with fall food  specials added to both the food truck and the creamery menus.

To call Kelly’s Creamery, dial 845-442-9366 or go online to www.kellyscreamerykht.com.