New ice cream stand opening on Saratoga Lake

STILLWATER, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A new ice cream stand and snack shack is coming to Brown's Beach on Saratoga Lake this season. Ugly Ice Cream is set to open on Friday, May 3.

Ugly Ice Cream is owned by Ariel Pagan, along with Mechanicville businessmen John and Joe Starr. Pagan is expanding on the "Ugly" brand as he is also the owner of the Ugly Rooster Cafe in Malta and Mechanicville and Ugly Rooster Catering in Cohoes.

A spokesperson for Ugly Ice Cream said that Pagan realized there wasn't an ice cream shop or snack bar located on Saratoga Lake. He then reached out to the town and the Starrs about opening Ugly Ice Cream.

Ugly Ice Cream is located at Brown's Beach but you can access the stand without having to pay to enter the beach. This also allows the stand to operate outside of the Beach's hours, said the spokesperson.

The preliminary Ugly Ice Cream menu features soft-serve ice cream with toppings and dips, novelty packaged ice cream, hot dogs, pizza, tater tots, nachos, soft pretzels, Oboys, and fresh-squeezed lemonade. The menu is subject to change before the opening.

"The catch at Ugly Ice Cream is that you can actually order anything 'ugly,'" said the spokesperson. If you order something "ugly," the employee will smash your ice cream into a bowl, throw on the toppings, and ideally give you an "ugly" face when serving it to you, said the spokesperson.

Getting something "ugly" does not just apply to the ice cream; guests can gets their food "ugly" as well. This could also include mix and match toppings for both the food items and the ice cream.

"We just want joy exploding from the brand," said the spokesperson. "We want people to come there and just be lifted up and their spirits lifted up."

With Ugly Ice Cream's theme being "Fun Delicious," the business is planning to feature their customer's "ugly" creations on social media. The stand is also planning to have a selfie mirror for people to take photos with their "ugly" ice cream and food.

The Ugly Ice Cream team is still finalizing the hours, but they are tentatively 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The owners are planning to close for the season on October 6.