Don't Worry, Somerville Will Soon Overflow With Ice Cream

Gracie's Ice Cream has just reopened for the season in Somerville's Union Square (and an expanded menu is coming, thanks to a new partnership with the Juliet team next door), but that's just the beginning of the city's upcoming ice cream bonanza.

Tipping Cow, for one, is slated to open later this month at 415 Medford St. in Winter Hill, the former Sammy's Market & Deli space, not too far from Magoun Square. Founded in Medford, the Tipping Cow brand already has a wholesale arm and can be found at some Whole Foods, farmers' markets, and a variety of local specialty food shops. As previously reported, a successful Kickstarter campaign helped get the storefront off the ground. When it opens, Tipping Cow will have pints of ice cream to go (no seating inside the shop), and it's all nut-free.

And Forge Baking Company's next-door ice cream shop, as reported in September, is now becoming a reality, notes Boston Magazine. Forge (sibling to Bloc 11 and Diesel) announced the new project on social media yesterday and predicted a late spring opening on Somerville Avenue, between Porter Square and Union Square. Forge Ice Cream Bar, as the 20-seat shop will be called, will have "the feel of a vintage ice cream shop, with an antique, revitalized dipping cabinet​, ​soda fountain, [and]​ vintage stools​,” co-owner Jennifer Park told the magazine. Park and co-owner Tucker Lewis fittingly met working at Herrell's Ice Cream in Harvard Square two decades ago. There will be eight flavors available daily, as well as other items, such as a Choco Taco-inspired treat.

Elsewhere in Somerville, keep an eye out for the seasonal reopening of old-timey favorite Louie's (193 Broadway), which usually happens around late May. And in Powder House, Frozen Hoagies holds down the fort with ice cream sandwiches year-round.