Poulton ice cream parlour's £200,000 makeover proves sweet success with customers

Bosses at The New Penny of Poulton said a £200,000 makeover has gone down a treat with customers.
Tom and Stephen Jones standing in front of their revamped New Penny.Tom and Stephen Jones standing in front of their revamped New Penny.
Tom and Stephen Jones standing in front of their revamped New Penny.

The ice cream parlour and café, in Tithebarn Street, has been in need of a revamp for some time, boss Stephen Jones said, with workmen put to work earlier this year.

He said: “The building took 13 weeks to complete.”

And his son Tom Jones, who helps run the popular eatery, added: “The public really likes it. Everybody I have asked said it feels like night and day.

A look into the new interiorA look into the new interior
A look into the new interior

“Sometimes when I close my eyes I feel like I’m in Italy.”

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The New Penny, which like many venues furloughed its staff – with not all returning – during the height of the pandemic, is soon to celebrate its 40th year after opening in November 1982.

Tom said chiefs are looking into a number of ideas of how to mark the milestone.

“It is quite the achievement for a third-generation business,” he said. “We have had the same landlords and the same foundations. Continuity is quite good in that sense.

Some of the many flavours on offer at the New PennySome of the many flavours on offer at the New Penny
Some of the many flavours on offer at the New Penny

“But it is going to be something special and we are hoping to do something to celebrate.”

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The New Penny, which has an average rating of 4.0 out of five on the review site TripAdvisor based on the thoughts of 146 customers, gave away its stock to locals after Covid restrictions forced its door shut last year.

Talks with the landlord began during lockdown, with builders due on site in January this year.

They “were busy”, Stephen said, with work eventually getting underway in March ahead of an official reopening in June.

Designers from The Artistry House scrapped the dark wooden aesthetic in favour of a lighter, more open space, with a middle wall knocked down and the back doors replaced by a sliding window door.

The colour scheme has also been overhauled.