Monday Update: The Post Ice Cream & Events shop opens at former American Legion Post 908 in Scranton's Green Ridge
May 22—SCRANTON — Here's the scoop.
Robert and Emily Franklin converted the former American Legion Post 908 building at 625 Deacon St. in Green Ridge into an ice cream shop and a spot for children's parties and other gatherings.
The Green Ridge couple named their new business the Post Ice Cream & Events, in a nod to the former Legion post that occupied the building.
They opened the shop April 22 and serve Manning's ice cream.
Robert Franklin bought the property, which totals nearly an acre, on Sept. 27 from the former Legion.
The next day, the city zoning board approved Franklin's plan to construct a 2,700-square-foot addition onto the front part of the Legion building. The addition was to have three 900-square-foot retail spaces for use as an ice cream shop, beauty salon and another retail use, and the rear portion of the existing L-shaped building would be a spot for children's birthday parties.
They put the ice cream shop in the former front meeting room of the Legion and have already hosted four parties and a Mother's Day event in the back room.
They had an overhang constructed on the front of the ice cream shop, but have shelved plans for constructing the addition and having a salon and another retail use.
"We may go a different route with what we want to do," Robert Franklin said.
That direction might mean adding miniature golf on a long grass strip section of the property between Deacon and Detty streets, he said.
"Wouldn't that be perfect for kids' parties — mini golf and ice cream," Emily said.
They also plan to construct an approximately 30-foot overhang off of the back room and install a concrete pad under this roof. This would give the back room an adjoining outdoor area. They envision possibly holding outdoor movie nights in this area.
The Franklins grew up in the Green Ridge area. Emily recalled that Manning's used to have an ice cream shop at Green Ridge corners.
"And I thought, we used to go there all the time as kids, so let's bring Manning's back to Green Ridge," she said.
They have worked hard to get their new business up and running.
"The next week (after the zoning approval), we went full throttle," Robert said. "It was about 168 days straight, without a day off, getting this place ready."
Emily added, "It's a labor of love, that's for sure."
Contact the writer:
jlockwood@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5185;
@jlockwoodTT on Twitter.
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