Longboat to take a scoop of the ice cream business

Craving homemade ice cream but don’t want to leave the Key? Thanks to a collaboration between Tyler’s Ice Cream and the Lazy Lobster, that will soon be possible.

The two companies have partnered and are set to open Tyler’s of Longboat, which will be next door to the Lazy Lobster in the Centre Shops, in late March or early April.

“We’re very excited,” said Dan Alderson, co-owner of Tyler’s Ice Cream. “We have a lot of current clients who come into Tyler’s from the Longboat area. We love the people of Longboat, and we think this is going to be a real good venue for Longboat Key.”

Tyler’s of Longboat will be the Key’s only ice cream shop.

“There’s so many ice cream shops on St. Armands, but we’re eight miles from St. Armands,” said Michael Garey, owner of the Lazy Lobster. “That’s a long trek, especially when you factor in season traffic. Longboat is sorely lacking an ice cream store, and we feel a big need for it.”

Larry and Geri Tyler opened the original Tyler’s Ice Cream, in Cortez, in 1984. Alderson, along with his son, Rob, and daughter-in-law, Laura, bought the shop in 2008. The trio opened a west Bradenton location in 2014.

The store also has several partner locations that serve the ice cream, including the Lazy Lobster.

“We’ve been buying Tyler’s Ice Cream for our guests for several years now,” said Garey, who came up with the idea of partnering with Tyler’s in August. “It’s a quality product, and they’re quality individuals. When we came up with the idea for ice cream, they were the very first and only place we thought of.”

Construction on the store will begin in the next 30 days.