MEDWAY – Wednesday was not only the last day of activity for TC Scoops, it was also its busiest day since opening 10 years ago, according to owner Tina Chemini.

“It was without a doubt the most sales we have made in a day,” she said. “We probably did six days of sales in one day. ”

Even though the rain poured in throughout the day causing thunderstorms in the evening that ultimately left the store without power, there was a queue leading up to the door and along the sidewalk since it opened in 11 a.m. until it closes at 9 p.m. spent all day buying their latest ice cream or hot dog at the store at 104 Main Street.

Some people came with tears in their eyes, Chemini said. She has known many young clients back when they were just baby bumps.

“It was very uplifting to watch … but sad,” she said.

His 10th birthday would have been August 3.

After a month of negotiations to stay in her place in the Medway Shopping Center Plaza, Chemini said she couldn’t come to an agreement with the owner to keep the space. On June 30, the last day of a five-year lease, the store closed.

Chemini said he was offered an option of increasing the monthly rent by $ 500. After trying to negotiate a phased approach to the rent increase, she couldn’t come to a deal and the initial offer was taken off the table, she said.

But according to Richard Bendetson, founder of Diversified Funding Inc., owner of Medway Square, Chemini was offered several options and chose not to take any. He declined to comment on what those options entailed as he said it was not appropriate for him to publicly discuss private matters.

“She had every opportunity to renew her lease, but she turned them down,” Bendetson said. He and other owners of the place have also responded to some comments they’ve received from concerned customers, but said they couldn’t give much more details on the situation.

“We regret that we made this decision – there is no incentive not to renew their lease, because to put a new tenant, we would have to spend a lot of money,” he said. “We feel bad about it – we realize she had followers in the community. Why don’t we keep an ice cream shop in the square? ”

Chemini said he received a letter from the square at the end of May, which represented 30 days’ notice telling them the business could not operate after June 30.

“It’s my retirement plan,” she says. “All of my retirement savings went to my original location, and when I moved into this location it was with the intention of staying here until I was ready to sell the business, that is so a huge ball of curve in my shot. ”

Several other businesses have also closed in the square over the past year, including Anne’s Market, Tumble Beans Cafe & Play, and Curves.

“Last year the pandemic – it wasn’t easy for a lot of our tenants,” Bendetson said. “We are always disappointed when someone has to close.”

The Medway shopping center is now fully occupied, he said. Next to TC Scoops is a space formerly occupied by the Medway Restaurant, which also closed last year. But a new restaurant is moving into that space and has since been renovated inside, he said. It should open in mid-July.

Before TC Scoops opened at its current location, it was in the space now occupied by Medway Smoke Shop. He also had a five-year lease there, but changed locations to add space, Chemini said.

While the doors to her second location are closed, plans to open in a third location are underway, she said. The company is looking to relocate to a new location in another town surrounding Holliston, where Chemini resides.

In the meantime, TC Scoops will continue to serve scoops from its ice cream bus, which serves Medway and other neighboring communities. Ideally, Chemini would like customers to host the bus, i.e. invite the bus to come and park in a neighborhood for a certain amount of time to serve several neighbors and friends at the same time.

TC Scoops doesn’t ride his bus around neighborhoods like many other ice cream trucks do – he arrives on demand because he has to keep his freezer plugged in, she said.

“It’s a lot of fun, I like it, because you can see all the neighbors getting together,” she said.

Before Chemini opened TC Scoops, she worked in corporate human resources.

“I have always dreamed of opening an ice cream parlor,” she said.

When her business was acquired, management began to be cut, which included her position, she said. They gave her a big severance package, which she used to open the ice cream shop. Her two children worked there.

“Through it all, I feel so bad for my employees,” she said. “I just want to say thank you to everyone for the incredible outpouring of support we’ve seen (Wednesday).”

Lauren Young writes about business and pop culture. Contact her at 774-804-1499 or [email protected] Follow her on Twitter @laurenwhy__.