Charlie’s Ice Cream closes its doors in Exeter

EXETER — After three seasons, Charlie's Ice Cream has closed its doors — at least for now.

“Unfortunately, Charlie's will not be returning for 2024,” wrote owner Doug Hanson in an Oct. 4 Facebook post. “Life is a journey, and this was just a stop along the way. Now it's time to try something else. … Thank you for making our dreams come true and take care of one another.”

The post garnered a number of comments from the community on the closure, some sad to see the shop go, others wishing the owner the best on “his next adventure.”

The creamery's last day was on Thursday, Oct. 5, when products sold out within 48 minutes of opening, according to Hanson's Facebook post.

Hanson did not return calls seeking comment on the shop's closure.

The 960-square-foot space at 150 Front St. is available to rent for a monthly lease of $1,800, according to Molly Ruffner of Ruffner Real Estate.

Charlie's Ice Cream opened in 2021

Charlie's Ice Cream opened its doors in May 2021 at the former Sign of the Times storefront. The family-owned creamery was named after the Hanson's 5-year-old pug.

The ice cream store featured over 40 homemade flavors, including staples like strawberry and vanilla, more exotic flavors like coconut and peanut butter and jelly, several dairy-free options, as well as a selection of 10 “adult-only” flavors for customers 21 and older, such as a boozy butterscotch crunch.

Recently, Hanson unveiled a mural painted by local artist Morgan Clinard in the shop. The 21-year-old Stratham resident spent 160 hours across two months creating the mural of nine dogs of different breeds enjoying ice cream of various flavors from their bowls. The dogs are seen relaxing on the green grass with the entrance to the store and blue skies as their background.

Clinard, who has not been in contact with Hanson since she completed the project, said the closure was a surprise.

“It was a surprise to me that they're closing,” she said. “I do know that the weather I think affected their hours this past summer because of all the rain… that's my personal take on it I don't have a factual take.”

After announcing the shop's closure on Oct. 4, Hanson wrote another post on Facebook alluding that Charlie's Ice Cream may come back in the future.