Annapolis' Storm Brothers Ice Cream expands menu as City Dock construction hurts business

After 50 years of serving ice cream on Annapolis City Dock, Storm Brothers Ice Cream is changing its business model as ongoing construction continues to put pressure on downtown businesses.

Owner Sveinn Storm said high rents and seasonal crowds have always made running a business downtown challenging, but the City Dock construction has added to the strain.

"That's a lot of lost sales for a small business," Storm said.

Storm estimates the shop's sales are down another $160,000 to $180,000 compared with last year.

After watching several nearby businesses close, including longtime neighbor Bitty & Beau's Coffee, Storm said he knew the ice cream shop needed to think outside the box.

"We are a part of the community, and it's hard to watch friends and businesses close," Storm said.

Storm Brothers plans to launch "Storm's a Brewing," expanding beyond ice cream to offer coffee, breakfast and pastries. Storm said several former Bitty & Beau's employees will join the new venture and help him learn a new side of the business.

"They're all excited about teaching me the coffee business," Storm said.

The goal is to launch the new menu by the end of the month. Storm said he hopes adding breakfast and coffee will bring more morning foot traffic to City Dock.

"I think it'll benefit everybody," Storm said. "I think that if we get this traffic down here … people need to understand that it's a great place."

For Storm, the change is about finding a way to keep a 50-year-old Annapolis business going through what he expects will be several more challenging years.

"When you realize that you're facing the reality of maybe losing the business that you've had for 50 years, you think, well, necessity is the mother of invention, and so we have to do something to change this," Storm said.