Click here for Greater Long Island newsletters. Click here to download the iPhone app.
Hand rolled ice cream, waffle tacos and unlimited toppings.
There just may be no better way to jumpstart your Memorial Day weekend and kick off summer than with a visit to The Rainbow Rolls on Friday, May 28.
That’s when — more specifically, at 10 a.m. — owners Evelyn and Rich Morales swing open the doors to their unique ice cream shop at 333 Main St. for the very first time.
They will stay open until 11 p.m., and then be open all weekend long, and for the rest of the summer and beyond.
Below is our original story about The Rainbow Rolls’ imminent arrival in Center Moriches:
Vacations to Miami and Las Vegas have inspired a nanny and a paralegal from Long Island to quit their jobs and open a rolled ice cream shop in Center Moriches.
Evelyn and Rich Morales are shooting for Memorial Day weekend to open up The Rainbow Rolls at 333 Main St., just across the street from Country Cottage Diner.
Rainbow Rolls will make its ice cream to order, fresh and right in front of the customer — offering unlimited toppings. Then, they’ll scoop the cold creamy blend into warm waffle tacos (editor’s note: they’ll also serve it in a cup, but come on …)
“We take a yearly family vacations to Miami, and rolled up ice cream is very popular there,” said Richard Morales, 24, who this week left his job as a paralegal in a real estate law firm. “We always loved that idea and wanted to bring it back to the community. Then we went to Las Vegas and saw ice cream being served in waffle tacos.
“We knew we had to put the two ideas together,” he added.
Furthermore, the shop’s location had to be in Center Moriches, said Morales, who grew up in Boston. When they married three years ago, Evelyn, 27, and Richard settled into an apartment in Center Moriches and fell in love with the community.
“When we had the chance to open a store there, we jumped right on it,” Richard Morales said. “It was the first place we ever called home together. We just really became one with the community.
“And we just wanted a way to come back to it,” added Morales, who currently lives in Patchogue with his wife.
While opening The Rainbow Rolls is the culmination of a years-long dream for the couple, it’s not exactly their first business venture.
Previously, as a side gig, they have operated El Che Argentinian BBQ catering company. Evelyn Morales’ parents founded the business, but now they focus their attention on their Riverhead restaurant, Che Argentinian Steakhouse. As time permits, the Moraleses will continue working on the barbecue catering business.
After two years of dreaming, preparing and ultimately practicing making rolled ice cream, the Moraleses are chomping at the bit to get started. Construction was mostly completed inside the shop and the storefront sign was hung over the weekend.
All that remains now are the official permits from Brookhaven Town.
Richard Morales said The Rainbow Rolls will be open every day of the week, swinging the doors open at noon on weekdays and as early as 10 a.m. on the weekends.
“We’re jumping all in with this,” Richard Morales said. “We believe in the product that we’re putting out, and we believe in the community that we’re serving. We have a supportive community and we’re going to provide great customer service.”
