NEWPORT, N.H. – On a warm summer day last July, a new, small-batch bakery and ice cream shop opened at 29 Main Street in downtown Newport.
Aptly called The Big Spoon, this cozy cafe specializes in super-premium ice cream, specialty coffees, and a wide variety of sweet and savory treats handcrafted in house by chef Corey Lombardo. Lombardo, along with her husband Michael Uhrin, are co-owners of The Big Spoon, the realization of a dream they first shared together nearly seven years ago, although their story dates back longer than that.
It was 2014 when Uhrin and Lombardo met at Ragged Mountain Resort in Danbury. Both are New Hampshire natives, and Uhrin spent a lot of his time skiing the mountain while Lombardo was working on staff in the kitchen.
“I would ski almost every day there,” Uhrin recalled. “Corey was a cook…but would also serve me drinks, and we would chat and flirt on the regular.”
The following year, the couple moved to Big Sky, Mont., where they found jobs at the posh Yellowstone Club, a private ski and golf resort frequented at the time by celebrities such as Tom Brady and Justin Timberlake.
“The Yellowstone had five restaurants and an unlimited budget,” Uhrin stated. “By the time we left, Corey was the pastry chef, and she had really honed her skill set there, making cakes, cupcakes, and laminated doughs like croissants and Danish pastries. She was free to make anything she wanted.”
Lombardo and Uhrin stayed in Montana through 2018, when, according to Uhrin, they were ready “to get married and do the family thing.”
They returned to New Hampshire to be closer to their families, and were married in the fall of 2018. Their daughter Olivia was born in 2019.
Lombardo wanted to be a professional chef since high school. She graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., before holding a variety of jobs working in kitchens “on the line.”
“Corey’s line cook background gives her a workhorse mentality,” Uhrin commented. “For four hours every morning [before the bakery is open]– from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. – she completely crushes the bake.” Serving items baked fresh every day is an important component of what The Big Spoon strives to offer the community.
Lombardo’s culinary magic skills produce creative confections such as berry pop-tarts and cookie dough croissants, large, frosted swirls of cinnamon buns, a rotating variety of muffins, Danishes, and hand pies, and much more.
The Big Spoon has an impressive list of savory items on their menu as well, like jalapeno popper Danishs, spinach artichoke turnovers, and a seasonal soup of the day, to name a few.
There is a “grab and go” section, stocking small meals such as chicken salad wraps and Italian sandwiches on house-made focaccia bread.
Admittedly, Uhrin and Lombardo are serious ice cream lovers. The Big Spoon is named after a preferred method of eating ice cream. “I’m like a little kid,” Uhrin laughed, “I take the biggest spoon in the drawer.”
Before opening, the couple did their research. Everything for their new venture was carefully curated and thoughtfully chosen. The award-winning Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company supplies homemade, high-quality ice cream to The Big Spoon, and the delicious coffee they serve comes from Atomic Coffee Roasters, a second-generation, family-run roasting company just north of Boston.
The couple welcomed a second child, their son Jack, just over three years ago, yet somehow, they are making the sometimes-chaotic schedule work for them.
The Big Spoon is open Wednesday-Saturday, from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Most of the prep work happens on Mondays and Tuesdays, which leaves the family exactly one day off every Sunday, typically spent outdoors.
There was some luck involved with the timing of the cafe space becoming available, and the fact that the couple had a personal connection to one of the building’s owners. When everything coalesced into the opportunity for Uhrin and Lombardo to turn their dreams into reality, they did not squander being in the right place at the right time.
If you find yourself in downtown Newport during business hours at The Big Spoon bakery, ice cream, and coffee shop, consider that you are also in the right place at the right time, and stop in to treat yourself.