The Parks and Recreation Department is ready to kick off its second season managing the Gulf Hill Dairy Ice Cream Bucket with brand new equipment and menu items this Saturday.

Manager Arthur Domingos and assistant manager Caleb Rebelo arrived at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday to test equipment, prep the lettuce and tomato, and receive an ice cream shipment.

“Now we’ve got state-of-the-art equipment,” said Domingos, pointing out the three new frialators and the expanded walk-in freezer.

The Bucket pulled in a $16,000 profit in its first year last summer. Parks and recreation director Tim Lancaster said they then invested that sum back into the ice cream stand at Apponagansett Park. “We should be able to put out more food faster this year,” he said.

That’s not the only change: Domingos has expanded the menu. He showed off what he called “the bucket dog”—a quarter-pound beef hot dog new to the menu. Add cheese, chili, anything you want for only $2.50, he bragged.

“There are about a dozen new food items,” said Lancaster, naming wraps and specialty burgers. He’s looking forward to the new toasted-coconut ice cream though. Rebelo said campfire s’more is his favorite ice cream flavor.

With an eight-person staff, Lancaster and Domingos hope to make the same, if not more money than last year. “It’s a benefit to the town, and it’s a benefit to patrons who are able to get food at reasonable prices,” said Lancaster.

Previously, private organizations rented the town-owned building for summer, but after struggling to get bidders, the Parks and Recreation Department took it over. “Profits stay within the parks and rec. department,” said Lancaster, explaining that once the self-sufficient operation is stable, they will use the income to fund parks and kids’ programs.

Domingos said the Summer Concert Series—which brings about 1,000 people to the property every Wednesday evening—will help bring in revenue. “We probably serve half of them in two hours. It seems all of them like clam cakes.”

The team had added a handicap-accessible pad last summer, and tables last fall. “Hopefully we’ll have a roof over our pad, but that’s still in the works,” said Domingos. This year, there will also be an on-site ATM for the cash-only stand.

The Bucket will be open 11-8 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday, May 21 and 22. It will reopen Friday, May 27, 4-8 p.m.