Soft Stuff Lost The Creepy Motel, But Made A Friendly Corner On Rte 40 For Ice Cream

Soft Stuff ice cream with rainbow sprinkles

I didn't believe that Soft Stuff could recreate the magic on Rte 40, but now I've taken a kid to lick ice cream on a summer night -- and I can see they pulled it off.

Soft Stuff is now a cash-only ice cream takeout in a shopping center on Rte 40 across from the Enchanted Forest shopping center.  Years ago, it was a classic haunt -- a wooden ice cream stand attached to a rundown motel in sight of Rte 40 in Ellicott City.  In 2012, the old site was demolished to make way for the new construction.

Back then, I didn't think the new place would capture the magic.  Soft Stuff had a specific vibe.  Teenagers behind the counter.  Customers basically loitering in a parking lot on hot summer nights.  I loved it then, and I felt the same this summer as Lil' Chow negotiated his way into a waffle cone plus sprinkles, then licked, licked, licked ice cream overlooking the parking lots.

River House Pizza Co. going down the row

The folks who redeveloped the old motel hit some real home runs for food.  They have a Korean restaurant in there, a Korean coffee shop, another Asian restaurant, a kabob place, Glory Days and more.  On my last visit, I surprised to see signs for River House Pizza Co.  That's Nathan Sowers' mobile pizza operation that has run off Main Street for years, and they're expanding to run a restaurant and headquarter his catering business, according to Joshua Gordon in the Baltimore Business Journal.

Definitely hit up Soft Stuff.  It's worth a visit on its own.  You order at the counter, then enjoy one of the few inside seats or the row of outdoor benches.    It's pretty basic soft serve.  But that's perfect for a warm summer night, doubly perfect if you get to watch a kid try to eat the entire cone before everything melts. 

And keep Soft Stuff in mind when I write more about all the great restaurants in the neighborhood.  The Enchanted Forest is headlined by White Oak Tavern.  The Soft Stuff development has its own restaurants.  And across the parking lots is a renovated shopping center with established Honey Pig and a new run of Thai, hot pot and tea.  In many ways, Rte 40 is winning the restaurant competition around here, and I'll post more soon.

Soft Stuff Did Soft Open Friday; Old-Time Ellicott City Taste In A New Location For Summer

Cool mint cone at the re-opened Soft Stuff

The Soft Stuff ice cream parlor did reopen Friday night -- a soft open because that's the only kind that they could have, noted Strobist.

This is ice cream in a new building constructed across from the Enchanted Forest shopping center on Rte 40 in Ellicott City.

For decades, it was counter service from a white building overlooking the road.  Now, the owners have redeveloped that land and the accompanying motel.  Soft Stuff is one of the new tenants.  The Two Dudes posted a pre-opening tour on their blog, and Adam hit the store with the ice cream fan in his life for the photo above and the report below:

Well, here's a shot of the "cool mint' cone  bought my mom and she loved.  (She used to go here almost everyday.)  I wasn't in a huge ice cream mode so I only sampled a few flavors, but the mint was definitely very thick with a rich and creamy mouthfeel. It's most definetly a step above regular soft serve...s eemed more custard in terms of the milkfat content (and prices).  One of these days when I work up a sweat I'll have to stop by for a shake.  About a dozen flavors, but no yogurt quite yet. With Sonic on the way and another Rita's down the street,  I think the Soft Serve Ice Cream Wars have begun. We are all going to be quite fat and happy :)

Can anyone describe how to find the new Soft Stuff?

Last Chance For Original Soft Stuff

Take your last chance to eat soft serve on the side of Rte 40.

The Soft Stuff stand has been an Ellicott City institution, and it will close some time in October.  Go now.  They're already starting the construction that will replace a motel and diner with a modern commercial development.  But you can get your cones and enjoy one final night eating ice cream next to your car.

We went Saturday night after a Korean dinner.  People were rolling up at a steady pace.  The woman working there said they'll stay open until October.  They didn't know an exact date yet.

Soft serve is soft serve.  I'm not sending you for a gourmet sweet.  I'm sending you because the ice cream parlor that will replace Soft Stuff will be like so many other ice cream parlors around.  The current stand is a window back in time, and the memory will be as delicious as the dessert.

Soft Stuff
10021 Baltimore Pike
Ellicott City, MD
410-465-2090

NEAR: Soft Serve is attached to the last remnant of the Forest Motel.  It is on the south side of Rte 40 west of Rte 29 across from the Enchanted

Soft Stuff's Last Summer As An Ice Cream Stand; Will Re-Open In 2013 As An Ice Cream Parlor

The Soft Stuff ice cream stand will offer up soft-serve ice cream all summer -- and then will be reborn in 2013 as an ice cream parlor, reports Karen Nitkin in the Sun.

Amid the explosion of frozen yogurt places, Soft Stuff is throwback -- a wooden stand overlooking Rte 40 that sells good soft-serve ice cream and the chance to enjoy your cones as you lean against your car.  Soft Stuff was one of the first places that I blogged about, and it's a center-piece for the "ice cream on a summer night" post that I need to update for 2012.

I'm sure the parlor will be fun too, but you should definitely enjoy Soft Stuff on one of these hot summer nights.  As much as it pains me to identify anything that opened in 1984 as "historic," I am pretty sure that you won't see a stand like this on Rte 40 in the future.

Nitkin also has a second story about the closing of the Forest Diner next to Soft Stuff.

Just between you, me and your general contractor, the article notes that the owners hope to have the first building constructed in time to open a Soft Stuff parlor for 2013.  No one should count on construction timetables.

Link: Forest Diner Closing May 28, But The Staff Is Moving Across The Street To Jilly's Restaurant

The Forest Diner will close on May 28 to make room for construction along Rte 40, but it's staff will move across the road to Jilly's, reports Wordbones in the Tales of Two Cities blog.

This is part of a redevelopment plan announced in 2009 -- although that called for the Forest Diner to stay around five years.  Back then, people said Soft Stuff would be part of the redeveloped space.  Anyone know how the soft serve ice cream stand will be affected?

Soft Stuff To Expand; Forest Diner Has Five Years

The Forest Diner will close -- in five years -- but Soft Stuff stays and expands.

The Howard County Times posted news that the owner of the Forest Diner has sold its land on Rte 40 in Ellicott City and has a five-year lease now to run the diner. No huge effect today, although, as a former newspaper reporter, I recognize a story idea with good photos, nostalgia, and people happy to talk about good news.

The sidebar quotes a local guy whose family owns the neighboring Forest Motel and bought the Forest Diner. The motel has closed, but they're keeping Soft Stuff open selling ice cream from its current stand for 2009. Soft Stuff is a great local place, one of my favorite spots on a summer night to sit with a soft serve cone and a bunch of other people. Starting in Spring 2010, Soft Stuff is planned as the first tenant in the new development on that site. It might move a little, but they're planning on picnic tables! A local spot continues!

(This post replaces an earlier post that I wrote when I saw the main story, but not the sidebar on the Web. Score one for Old Media because I wouldn't have made that mistake if I had actually read a newspaper. Thanks to the anonymous perso who posted the sidebar in the comments. And thanks to the folks who are keeping Soft Stuff alive.)

Soft Stuff: Ice Cream in Ellicott City

Soft Stuff makes memories out of the mundane.

Get out of your house this summer for an ice cream cone. Soft Stuff is a slice of Ellicott City history -- right across from the former Enchanted Forest amusement park. Get a cone -- vanilla, chocolate or a swirl. Bring some friends. Take your folks to sit at the picnic tables. Turn a hot summer night into the great reason to cool yourself down.

It's a beautiful place, even though the ice cream is just average and the picnic tables overlook traffic on Rte 40. It is just more fun than eating dessert in your own yard. You'll be surrounded by other folks, by kids dripping ice cream down their arms and couples licking cones as they sit in the open gate of their pickups. You nod hello. You smile at everyone. For $2.40, you can make a cone of your own summer memories. For a little more, you can go banana split.

Soft Stuff at the Forest Motel

10021 Baltimore Pike

Ellicott City, MD

410-465-2090

NEAR: Soft Serve is attached to the Forest Motel. It is on the south side of Rte 40 west of Rte 29.