Popular CNY Ice Cream Store Reopens after Major Storm Damage

Good news!  After staying closed for roughly 4 days to mop up Debby’s damage, one of the Mohawk Valley’s favorite ice cream stores is back open for business!

UPDATE: 2:30pm

Bonomo’s Dari Creme Is celebrating their grand reopening. While they aren’t back to 100%, people can now head down to Kirkland to enjoy their famous homemade ice cream.

The rest of the kitchen remains closed. This story will update once repairs are complete.

ORIGINAL STORY: 

Thanks to Debby, you will have to go somewhere else for delicious, homemade ice cream in the Mohawk Valley.

Ever see a sign while you're driving and you can't help but stare at it nonstop as you pass? That happened to me as I was driving down Route 5 in Kirkland.

The usually bright and boingy lighted sign at Bonomo's was not in its usual advertising mode. Instead, the sign read along the lines of, "Closed. Check our Facebook for updates."

Long story short: we can thank the remnants of Hurricane Debby for forcing Bonomo's to close its doors and keep them shut a lot longer than they would have liked.

The ice cream shop closed early on Thursday, 8/09, due to staffing and weather issues and has remained shuttered ever since. Debby delivered record rainfall to Central New York last week, causing flash flooding and unsafe conditions across the Mohawk Valley.

The National Weather Service said the storm dumped 2.42 inches in Washington Mills, 2.09 inches in Utica, 1.98 inches in Westmoreland, and 1.25 inches in Whitesboro on Thursday. Those areas respectively received an additional 2.42 inches, 2.09 inches, 1.98 inches, and 1.25 inches the following day.

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While these amounts may not seem like terribly much, the torrential downpour came on the heels of several days of rain. The Clinton/Kirkland area endured three straight days of showers to start off the week and was able to enjoy one day of partial sunshine on the day before Debby arrived.

All that water added up and flooded parts of Route 5 and caused rivers to dangerously swell.

Above is a photo I took of the Oriskany Creek right after Debby. This normally shallow, calm, and semi transparent creek had become a loudly roaring, over-bloated, chocolate-colored mess.

The area by Bonomo's is unfortunately flood prone, so the grounds may have become too waterlogged for it to open safely. It seems the continued soggy conditions may be complicating restoration efforts.

The good news is, Bonomo's said their food is unharmed. Here's hoping the damage was only cosmetic.

As of this Monday, Bonomo's is still not ready to open.

"Construction foreman, Ken Olikrunch and associate, Pete Stachio ask everyone to please bear with us….," the business explained and shared a photo of a gutted wall and exposed insulation to detail the extent of the damage.

As of now, Bonomo's is hopeful to reopen soon, but it is uncertain if they will be able to complete repairs by the weekend. The owners are sorry for the inconvenience and thanks the community for its support.

While Bonomo's arguably has the best ice cream in the Mohawk Valley, we all know the wait to be reunited with their legendary sweet treats will be well worth it.

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Also a bit of good news; the region will enjoy a few sunny days that will hopefully assist in drying out the shop and speeding up repair work.

The National Weather Service predicts the dry weather will stick around until at least Friday, until rain is expected to move back into the region over the weekend.

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