It was the beginning of a new era on West Main Street in Cheshire this past weekend, both for a popular ice cream parlor and a historic former factory. Sweet Claude’s Ice Cream, which moved out of its location on Route 10 in late-July, opened in its brand-new space at Ball & Socket Arts. Sweet Claude’s is the first business to open in the complex, which is the former home of the historic Ball & Socket Manufacturing Co. factory that operated in Cheshire for more than 100 years until closing in 1994. Sweet-treat lovers lined up to partake in their favorite flavors and check out the parlor’s new digs.

Cheshire Herald staff