Confetti flies as local business owner Lauren Guptill cuts the ceremonial ribbon in front of her newly launched Rococo Dessert Bar Eloise Goldsmith photo
KENNEBUNK — In the past decade, Lauren Guptill has established herself as something of a local ice cream magnate. She’s the woman behind Rococo Ice Cream, an ice cream shop that launched in Kennebunkport in 2012 and serves up innovative flavors like goat cheese blackberry Chambord and horchata rum cake. The scoop shop has generated press in Maine and beyond.
Now Guptill has a new venture, Rococo Dessert Bar, which is right next to the new location of Rococo Ice Cream on Western Avenue in Kennebunk. The Dessert Bar has been open since September but celebrated its official opening this past Friday.
In June 2023, Guptill re-opened her flagship ice cream shop on Western Avenue after she was forced to leave her old store front at the end of 2022. She knew she wanted to keep the scoop shop small, which meant the additional space in the new building opened up the possibility of creating a separate storefront. “For years, I’ve dreamed of creating a place that specializes in dessert and cocktails, as a romantic destination for couples, and families, to enjoy a special night out,” said Guptill.
Rococo Dessert Bar is that dream come to fruition.
The new bar has expanded Guptill’s horizons, both creatively and as a business owner. “As a scoop of ice cream, you can only go so far. But once you take that same ice cream and add it to a cocktail, or an affogato, or milkshake, you can see how much further it can go,” she said. Much of the menu is ice-cream forward, featuring the flavors that are available at Rococo Ice Cream next door.
She acknowledges that the dessert bar is different from the type of retail one typically sees in Kennebunk and wider Maine — but she’s not worried. If anything, she sees it as an advantage.
“I’ve never been afraid to take a risk, in life and in business,” said Guptill. “I know that I’ve definitely taken a risk with this location and building it this way. I don’t think it’s gonna be hard to find a customer base … We’ve developed this jewel box of a location that is offering an experience unlike anything else in the Kennebunks or even really in southern Maine.”
The interior of the bar lives up to its namesake. Rococo is an art movement that originated in 18th century France that embraced the ornate, over-the-top, and playful. Rococo art is often associated with European aristocracy. Guptill’s new space is, in a word, luxurious — decked out with creamy pinks, purple tile, gold chairs and silverware, plush booth seating, and wall hangings that evoke the Palace of Versailles.
The menu features treats in the same vein, with a cocktail called the Queen Has Spoken, a vodka, Chambord and earl gray concoction, and a dessert titled Cake & Caviar, which features orange cardamom olive oil cake, salty sweat ice cream, and smoked trout roe. If you’re interested in something more traditional, a classic root beer float, a chocolate hazelnut ice cream cake, and a blueberry lemon shortcake are on the menu. The bar also has a list of beer and wine.
The new dessert bar is shaped by an overall business philosophy that aims to deliver something truly original. “I’ve never been about doing what everyone else is doing, and [the dessert bar] is just another spin off of that. I’ve never made cookie dough ice cream, and I never will,” she said. “I’d rather do something that creates an experience” that leaves people with a distinct memory that makes them want to return. “I don’t think many people go back for cookie dough.”
After the ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, a couple visiting from out of state sipped espresso martinis and chatted with the bartender.
“I’m obsessed with this place. I could spend my whole life here,” said Katie Arnold of Kansas City. “You can quote me on that.”
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