Hudson’s Ice Cream serves ‘ice cream for all’

Hudson’s Ice Cream opened on Route 32 in Central Valley in December with an ice cream menu with options that are either gluten free, dairy free, nut free or vegan.

“My son (Hudson’s) allergies were definitely the biggest motivation,” said Mendel Mendelovits, the owner and founder of Hudson’s Ice Cream. “He has 30 different food allergies ... all different nuts, eggs and dairy and so on. All of these are very common ingredients in ice cream.”

According to a Center for Disease Control (CDC) in January 2023, 6.2% of people aged 18 or older had a food allergy in 2021, while for people under 18 the rate was 5.8%.

“Unless we take matters into our own hands’

“Hudson’s Ice Cream was born from a personal need and deep love of ice-cream,” according to its website. “As the parents of a child suffering from allergies the struggle to find a kid-friendly venue in the Hudson Valley that serves nut-free ice cream or milk free ice cream was REAL. At a certain point we realized that unless we take mouth-watering matters into our own hands, Hudson would never be able to eat his favorite treat.”

Mendelovits, who describes himself as an entrepreneur, said he began talking about possibly opening an ice cream place early last summer.

“This was me diving into something that I learned on the fly with no prior experience,” he said.

“We do not physically make the ice cream in house,” he added. “We have a few companies that make it for us and it is all made in New York. Most of them are made in the Hudson Valley.”

Tammy Godoy is a service leader for Hudson’s Ice Cream.

“People seem to like it because we have the different options rather than the typical ice cream,” Godoy said. “Because of the fact that we have the gluten free and nut free options, it brings in more people because they also have the allergies to the gluten or the nuts or the dairy.”

Options, options, options

“A lot of people are not aware that there is options out there and that they can enjoy dairy free, gluten free or nut free ice cream just like any other kid,” said Mendelovits. The shop also has vegan ice cream options. “Some of the people that can’t have dairy or gluten resort to a vegan ice cream that has nothing in it. We already have a similar product, why not have that as well and make sure it is safe for everyone.

“We are open year-round,” Mendelovits added, ”so people can enjoy ice cream in the midst of winter with indoor seating.”