Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Hits the Hamptons

East End summers are about sun, sanctuary…and sorbet? Technically, it’s frozen fruit, and it arrives on the scene each summer ready for a few months under the Long Island sun. Fresh and simple—Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit embodies the antidote that we the fatigued, the caffeine-addicted, and the stressed seek in our getaways to the Hamptons: refreshment.

Three years ago, founder Chloe Epstein, former New York City Assistant District Attorney, gave up on the ubiquitous froyo stores we all love in pursuit of a lighter, healthier option. The product is a new sort of soft serve—minus the syrups, chemicals and dairy. Just fruit. Like the enterprise’s original name, Simply Peeled, the company began as an attempt to create a simple, natural treat. Chloe teamed up with husband Jason and triathlete and friend Michael Sloan to create the treat that caters to the healthy and the sweet-toothed.

What they came up with was a hit; a year after they opened the flagship store in Union Square, they hitched a ride on the ever-bustling health bandwagon on its annual trek to the East End of Long Island. Two years later, Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit has made a home here, where they serve East Enders and vacationing Manhattanites alike. Beginning at the Hampton Coffee Company in Water Mill, the trio expanded their serving locations to include the Golden Pear cafes in East Hampton, Southampton, Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor. There is a full selection of pops and soft serve fruit at Hampton Coffee Company and at Golden Pear Sag Harbor. The other Golden Pear Cafes currently offer just the pops. Reinventing a historic summer snack, taking it back to the basics, integrating tradition with modernity—sounds perfect for the Hamptons.

As I chatted with Chloe’s Water Mill Director of Operations Jonathan Weizmann, he revealed that the company keeps their fruit ingredients as fresh as possible, using only the highest quality fruit. When your product contains only “fruit, filtered water, and a touch of organic cane sugar,” it’s clearly important to keep the main—and basically the only—ingredient fresh. They don’t serve just fruit, however; with flavors like plum tangerine, blood orange, banana, and dark chocolate and over 24 tasty toppings, foodies can find treats for any time of day and any craving—without devastating our Hampton-ready beach bodies.

Weighing in at less than 90 calories per 3.5 ounce serving, these sweet snacks are well-suited for the East End atmosphere: bikini-proof, Soul Cycle friendly, gluten and dairy free.

I tried their recommended Fruittastic combination, which was satisfyingly sweet and refreshing, with a sorbet-like consistency. However, Chloe’s touts a banana and dark chocolate mixture that sounds like the perfect dessert after a long, trying day at the beach—or by the pool, on the golf course, or shopping. You can get breakfast (or any time of day) smoothies or sundaes, and you can invent your own combinations of fruit, toppings and treats.

The Union Square store is the trio’s largest location for their frozen fruit business, one that has blossomed into a delivering, year-round soft serve fruit server. City dwellers loved it, so they tried their luck out here, where we welcome summer popups and tasty, healthy treats. Turns out, we like it, too.

Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit at Hampton Coffee Company on Montauk Highway in Water Mill is open Thursday through Sunday, through June 24, then seven days a week through September. chloesfruit.com

For info on the Golden Pear Café visit goldenpearcafe.com