On warm fall afternoons and hot spring days, Matthew Galvin spent the final hours of his classes in school dreaming about an ice cream shop that he and his siblings could walk to after the final bell.

Last week, on July 4, he turned those dreams into reality with the opening of the Lazy Bear Creamery at 383 Neponset Ave. just up from the circle.

The 24-year-old entrepreneur, who grew up on nearby Pierce Avenue, spent more than eight years working at the bible camp at Saint Ann’s parish. He also worked at the Ashmont Grill, but that wasn’t enough for his ambition.

“I’ve always wanted to open my own business whether it was going to be a coffee shop or an ice cream shop. My sister is an all-star baker, and my Nana Peach has a great secret hot fudge recipe, so this was honestly the better route to go with the ice cream store,” said Galvin. 

Galvin attended Merrimack College for two years, but instead of returning to school for his junior year, he decided to get first-hand experience working in hospitality. 

A friend of his who had been the head chef at Ashmont Grill “had left to open his own sandwich shop in Marshfield called Mae’s,” he said. “He asked me if I wanted a job, so that was a lot of hands-on experience. That was exactly what I needed versus college.”

At Mae’s, Galvin learned about what it took to open and run a successful business and two years ago, he decided to transform what was once a dentist’s office into the ice cream shop that he wished had existed when he was a kid. 

The journey to opening day did not come without difficulties. With the help of his parents, Danny and Anne, he had to secure various permits from the city while he was gutting the walls of patient rooms and replacing them with refrigeration, countertops, and sloth decor. The hard work he put in has certainly paid off.

“Ever since we opened up everyone in the neighborhood has been wicked excited, and we have had a bunch of people who have come back multiple times already and we’ve only been open since Tuesday,” Galvin shared in an interview with the Reporter on Tuesday of this week. 

His repeat customers return to enjoy the 40 flavors of ice cream that the store offers, all of which are from a little shop on the South Shore called Nona’s Homemade Ice Cream. One popular flavor in the first week of operation has been the North End, which is a cannoli-inspired treat made of sweet ricotta ice cream, cannoli shells, and chocolate chips. Another big hit is the Muddy River, a chocolate-based ice cream mixed with Oreos, fudge, and caramel swirl. 

There are other popular ice cream shops in Dorchester, but Galvin says his location near Garvey Park, the Kenny School, the Murphy School as well as multiple parks and churches, will be a convenience for neighbors who can walk to his shop. The homemade baked goods, he says, are what will keep them coming back.  

“My sister [Maggie Galvin] is the star of the show. She does all the baking,” said Galvin. “Between the ice cream, my Nana Peachy’s secret recipe for the hot fudge, and my sister’s baking there’s really no comparison.”

Maggie will be attending culinary school at Johnson and Whales in Rhode Island in the fall. She plans on studying baking and business and will continuously keep the shop’s menu fresh with the new recipes she learns about. 

In addition to his sister’s brownies and cookies and Peachy Galvin’s hot fudge, Lazy Bear has homemade caramel sauce, waffle cones, ice cream cakes, and ice cream sandwiches that they are excited to share with the community. His younger brother Andrew works the counter. 

“I’m just glad to see a smile on every kid’s face when they come in here,” said Galvin. “Everybody is super excited and that really makes my day. When they come in, they’re like ‘Oh my god, this is it, this is exactly what we need in this neighborhood.’ That makes me feel really good. We’re doing the best we can, and people are enjoying it.”

Lazy Bear is currently open from noon to 10 p.m. daily. Galvin hopes to see the shop remain open all year round and already has plans to add hot chocolate to the menu in the winter months. 

Since the opening, people have often been waiting outside, which the newly minted owner sees as a good sign. “If you ever see a line out the door you can sneak up to the takeout window and cut the line; you just can’t see the ice cream from back there, but we have a list of the flavors and everything,” said Galvin, who is working to make the space more welcoming with the addition of a mural and a sloth hanging from overhead lights. 

“I’m just happy to be here doing whatever I can,” he said. “Obviously, I have to do stuff on the back end, but I’m here scooping ice cream with them shoulder to shoulder all day long.”

Lazy Bear Creamery owner Matthew Galvin (second from left) poses with his sister Maggie and mother and father Anne and Danny in front of a mural at their take-out ice cream window. Cassidy McNeeley photo