Twist Ice Cream is a new business on Main Street in Peterborough, but it is already attracting a stream of customers.

Twist serves soft-serve ice cream, gelato and a selection of toppings. The shop is tucked in next to the diVINE on Main wine bar, across the alley from Create It Crafts and the Steele’s building. Owner Lindsay LaRouche said Twist’s soft opening on Dec. 2, the day of Peterborough’s holiday Lantern Parade, was so busy the line stretched all they way down the entry ramp to the sidewalk.

“We can’t see outside from behind the counter, so we had no idea how long the line was. We could just that the lobby was full and that people just kept coming, ” LaRouche said.

Twist ended up running out of soft serve during the Lantern Parade and had to reschedule the formal opening for another week out. 

“It was a good problem to have,” LaRouche said. “It was just incredible.” 

Larouche, a Florida native, moved to Peterborough with her husband and young son and daughter five years ago. The family has fallen in love with the New England’s four seasons and small-town life. 

“I show my friends in Florida pictures of stuff like the Lantern Parade or Children in the Arts, and they just can’t believe it,” LaRouche said. “It’s just a special, magical place, and we love it.” 

After 20 years in the restaurant industry, Larouche took time off to stay home with her children after moving to Peterborough.

“But then COVID happened, and I got bored,” LaRouche said with a laugh. “My entrepreneurial brain never stops. It’s always like, what can I do next? What can I do now?” 

LaRouche started making macarons to sell to friends and neighbors, but the business became so successful, she decided to open a shop.

“And my husband said, ‘We have too many macarons in this house!’ ” LaRouche said with a laugh. 

LaRouche opened Sweet Macaron on Grove Street in February 2021, during the pandemic. The shop has become a success, “more than we ever even imagined was possible,” LaRouche said. 

LaRouche said she never had any intention of opening cream shop along with the macaron shop.

“But then Ava Marie’s moved to the plaza, and we were just so sad there would be no ice cream in the village. We loved walking around downtown and getting ice cream with our kids. We could not imagine not being able to get ice cream downtown,” LaRouche said. 

LaRouche had seen a similar concept at a chain in Florida that served both ice cream and gelato, but had never seen anything like it in New England.

“We have heard that New England eats more ice cream than anywhere else in the country, even in the winter, so we’re hoping that’s true,” LaRouche said. “So far it has been steady and people have been coming in and coming back and they’ve been so supportive. It’s been amazing.”

Twist is open Fridays noon to 8 p.m., Saturdays noon to 8 p.m. and Sundays noon to 6 p.m. in the winter and will be open seven days a week starting in April. Twist is on Facebook at Twist NH.