Little DippeRz is located at 230 Pawling Ave. in downtown Hartland.

From left to right, owner of Little DippeRz Tanya Little, and her husband Rob Little inside the ice cream shop.

Little DippeRz is located at 230 Pawling Ave. in downtown Hartland.

HARTLAND — Little DippeRz, LLC is set to open Saturday during Hartland’s annual Sidewalk Sale. The new ice cream shop is owned by Tanya Little and located at 230 Pawling Ave.

Having done some traveling, Little realized that compared to other areas, downtown Hartland was lacking an ice cream shop. Her realization especially struck her during a trip to Gettysburg, Penn., three years ago.

“It hit home when I was in Gettysburg where every other door is an ice cream parlor there,” said Little. “It just came to me that we don’t have it, I would love to bring one in and then the timing became right, and the space became available.”

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From left to right, owner of Little DippeRz Tanya Little, and her husband Rob Little inside the ice cream shop.

In being part of the community for 11 years, Little felt as though she needed to bring an ice cream shop to downtown Hartland. However, the first location she tried for fell through. Shortly after, Little secured a spot in April that was previously occupied by a gun store.

Little started the process of opening and renovating the space in May and finalized it Tuesday. Little said she had to learn a lot about construction, plumbing, architects and health codes. However, the Waukesha County Health Department was helpful and informative in walking her through the process.

The shop does not have any employees at this point as Little finished everything much faster than she anticipated. For now, she and her husband, Rob Little, whose name is also on the LLC, will be scooping ice cream as they learn how to run the business. They plan on hiring employees down the line.

While there are two other businesses that serve ice cream treats in the area, Little says hers is the only one located downtown, and the only one that physically scoops ice cream for customers instead of dispensing it out of a machine.

“That small-town charm,” said Little. “You see people with a scoop of ice cream and an ice cream cone in their hands.”

Though Little has lived in Hartland for 11 years, she has always worked somewhere else. Having a shop in a popular area of Hartland gives Little hope that she will start to become more involved in the community.

The shop currently has a 12-bucket cabinet for display and another one will arrive today, allowing for 16 choices and one non-dairy option. Eventually she will add more to the menu like gourmet popcorn and other seasonal treats.

Little DippeRz, stemming from Tanya’s current last name and her old last name which was Polish and started with “Rz”, will open its doors during the Hartland Sidewalk Sale with Little and her husband scooping ice cream.

Regular hours for the shop will start Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4 to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with hours subject to change.