Spoon Cafe, a Spring Street establishment that sells frozen yogurt and other treats, will close its doors on Nov. 11. Spoon has operated in a storefront on the ground floor of the Williams College Bookstore since July 2020.
Spoon owner David Little founded the café with his late wife Colleen Little, who served as special assistant to the vice president for the Office of College Relations and director of principal giving strategy at the College before she died from metastatic breast cancer in May 2022.
Despite Spoon’s ongoing success, Little decided to close the shop to lighten his schedule and spend more time with his loved ones, he told the Record. He has been balancing responsibilities as a small-business owner, full-time pharmacist, and single father for over two years, he said.
“It’s gotten to the point where it’s too much,” he said. “I’m looking to scale back my responsibilities and focus a little bit more on my family.”
Little opened Spoon following burnout from his professional career. Frozen yogurt was a favorite in his family, and at one point his youngest daughter suggested that they open a frozen yogurt café.
“As years went on and our kids got older, I was starting to think of something I could do as a challenge,” Little said. “The [idea] popped into my head, and Colleen and I began to think of the concept of Spoon.”
Little and his wife planned to open Spoon in April of 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic derailed their plans. They reevaluated their business model — without any prior entrepreneurial or hospitality experience — and decided to offer online ordering and curbside pickup in addition to in-person service. Spoon officially opened on July 4, 2020.
Over the last four years, Spoon has shared its unique frozen yogurt flavors with the College and Town community. Little described business from Town residents as integral to the business. “The original business plan for Spoon was to always build it around the community,” he said.
Little, who also serves on the board of the Town Chamber of Commerce, said that, while Spoon remained profitable, a recent dip in tourism in the Berkshires hurt local establishments. “Spoon has taken an impact too,” he said.
The College is the landlord to the retail space where Spoon has operated since 2020. Associate Provost Chris Winters, who manages the College’s retail space, wrote in an email to the Record that the College is actively searching for a new tenant to fill the space, though the process will take time. “A couple of entrepreneurs have approached us, and we are considering short- and long-term options for the space,” Winters wrote.
Winters also expressed gratitude for Spoon and Little’s entrepreneurship. “Spoon has been a valuable presence on Spring Street,” Winters wrote. “David is a savvy entrepreneur and an all-around great guy. He’ll be missed.”
Little said he is hoping to host closing specials and events, including “buy-one-get-one-free” pints of frozen yogurt and potential late-night hours. Little, who grew up in the Town, said he enjoys Homecoming and is enthusiastic that it will fall on the last weekend before closing. “That’ll be our last hurrah that weekend, and [we’re] hoping to do some things that whole week while we have the opportunity to do so,” Little said.
The decision to close Spoon was an emotional one, he said. “It’s bittersweet for me with Spoon, because it’s almost five years now, and it’s not like I have to close it because [Spoon] is not doing well,” he said. “It’s because I can’t continue to do all this in my life right now.”
“I feel like I’ve gotten out of it exactly what me and Colleen had dreamed of getting out of it,” Little said. “It’s emotional, but it’s time.”
