Forge Baking Company Plans Ice Cream Shop Next Door

Forge Baking Company — younger sibling to Bloc 11 in Union Square and Diesel in Davis Square — opened almost a year ago on Somerville Avenue, about halfway between Porter Square and Union Square. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Forge serves sandwiches, salads, a variety of baked goods, coffee and other beverages, and sometimes pizza. One day, it'll add ice cream to the list.

According to plans filed with the city, Forge wants to take over the 4,205-square-foot vacant space between itself and Chow N Joy and turn it into an ice cream shop. The retail portion of the shop will take up 550 square feet in the front of the space, with seating for up to 30, while the rest of the space will be used for production, offices, and training space for Forge and its older siblings. All ice cream will be made onsite. The proposed facade will match Forge's with similar signage and plenty of windows.

The Somerville ice cream landscape has been building up a bit over the last year. Gracie's Ice Cream is nearing its first birthday in Union Square, and it's now offering sundaes and catering office parties, according to a recent newsletter. Frozen Hoagies, which began as an ice cream sandwich truck, opened its Powder House Circle brick-and-mortar location around the same time as Gracie's. And Spring Hill coffee shop 3 Little Figs featured regular "Ice Cream Sundays" during the summer, featuring its in-house ice cream brand, GoodFat, which appears to be going into hibernation for the fall.

Meanwhile, Tipping Cow, fresh from a successful Kickstarter campaign, will soon open a shop in Somerville's Winter Hill, not far from Magoun Square.