Williamstown's Lickety Split Closes

By Phyllis McGuireSpecial to iBerkshires
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Residents craving ice cream were greeted with this sign in the window of Lickety Split since Nov. 1.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Rumors began flying this summer but now what the Williams College community and town folk dreaded has come. Lickety Split on Spring Street has closed.

The beloved ice cream shop closed its doors at the end of October but owner Robin Kanelos said she expects the restaurant to reopen in a new location. However, that location is still unknown after the Kanelos' lease expired.

Kanelos did not wish to expand further on the shop's closing but when contacted in September, she said she intended to return to Spring Street. She declined to reveal what steps, if any, she is taking in that direction nor would she say why she was not renewing her lease or if she had even been given an opportunity to do so. The building's owner, Mark Paresky, has not been available to comment.

Recently, Kanelos mentioned that Williams College is helping her find a space to reopen Lickety Space. The only available space on Spring Street as of this moment is 32 Spring St., which was occupied by McClelland's until 2009.  But rumor has it that something else may be opening up on the street.

Loyal patrons of  Lickety Split, the shop best known for its delicious ice cream, including the popular Purple Cow flavor, are more than disappointed that their supply has literally been cut off. One Williams student spoke of the closing of the shop as an "atrocity" and the wife of a faculty member has vowed not to patronize any other ice cream vendors on the street.


The Lickety Split location at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art is still open.

In September, Kanelos made it clear that since she assumed ownership of the Williamstown Lickety Split eleven years ago, she has operated the business independently of Lickety Split at Mass MoCA.  

"My sister and her husband own the Lickety Split at Mass MoCA," she said.
 
Though mystery continues to shroud the fate of the cozy eatery that offered snacks, soups, sandwiches and salads as well as ice cream, iBerkshires will be sleuthing until it can report the opening of a re-incarnated Lickety Split.


*iBerkshires reporter Andy McKeever also contributed to this article.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Williamstown Planners Seek Input from Airbnb Proprietors

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board on Tuesday discussed ways to reach out to residents who use their homes for short-term rentals as the body prepares to bring a bylaw regulating the practice to May's annual town meeting.
 
Short-term rentals – referred to as Airbnbs in the vernacular — have been a topic of conversation for the board for years. At one point, it was close to finalizing a bylaw proposal a couple of years ago but instead asked the Select Board to take up the project, as any such regulation would not be specific to a given zoning district but applicable to the town as a whole.
 
The Select Board effectively took no action after studying the question, leaving the planners to take it up again at the start of their 2024-25 cycle.
 
The board has a draft bylaw that would restrict short-term rentals of a primary dwelling unit to 90 days in a calendar year in the residential districts if approved by two-thirds of town meeting members. The rule, as drafted, would carve out exceptions: allowing unlimited rentals of a primary dwelling if the owner lives on the property in an accessory dwelling unit; allowing unlimited rentals of an individual bedroom in a home where the owner is residing; and allowing unlimited short-term rentals of ADUs if the owner lives in the primary residence.
 
What the board members want is feedback from residents who already rent their homes on services like Airbnb or Vrbo.
 
"Do people feel like the feedback we've gotten has been representative of different points of view," Chair Peter Beck asked his colleagues at Tuesday's meeting.
 
"In the current cycle, we haven't gotten any feedback," Kenneth Kuttner said.
 
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