As the warmer weather approaches, two local businesses have reopened their doors to help residents cool off with a sweet, dairy treat.
Ben & George’s Ice Cream in Pittston Township and Choo Choo’s Ice Cream in Dupont are two seasonal businesses and are only open a few months out of the year.
Ben & George’s reopened on April 17 with a soft opening and only a few customers their first few nights, but owner John Harring said it didn’t take long for word to get out about the business opening its windows.
“We opened the day after Easter,” he said. “I usually do a soft opening to get my employees ready and figure out what I’m missing or what I didn’t order. There’s 1,000 things, like maybe a customer wants chocolate chips and then I realize I forgot to order chocolate chips. The first Sunday, we always get slammed.”
Ben & George’s Ice Cream has been a staple in the township for 19 years. Harring has owned it for the last 17 years, buying the business from its original owner.
The business is outside seating only, and offers a variety of ice cream treats such as typical soft serves chocolate, vanilla and other flavors. It also offers Italian ice, flurries, hard dipped flavors and more.
Harring said when people think of Ben & George’s Ice Cream, they think of one thing.
“I’d say the fruity pebble flurry,” he said. “I’m not sure if other people do that. But, our fruity pebble flurry and our birthday cake flurry.”
Harring said the business’s drive-thru window is also popular and is sometimes busier than the walk-up windows.
“That’s taken off huge,” he said. “The last two years the drive-thru’s been bigger than the walk-up window. The numbers the last few years have been getting bigger and bigger. People can come through here, get a cone, pay it and get out of here in a minute.”
Ben & George’s Ice Cream is located at 194 Oak St. and is open from noon to 10 p.m. seven days a week.
Still fairly new to the area is Choo Choo’s Ice Cream, which opened in 2016, and is owned by Bob Banellis.
The business enjoyed success in its first year, which included being voted Best Ice Cream in the Sunday Dispatch’s Best of Greater Pittston Readers’ Contest.
“We never expected that,” said Banellis’s fiance, Jill Stahl. “To go up against seasoned places such as Blue Ribbon (Farm Dairy), and Ben & George’s, so for us it was amazing.”
Choo’s Choo’s Ice Cream is another place to find chocolate and vanilla soft serves, but the business also incorporated a new machine that distributes nine different flavors of ice cream which change frequently and range from vanilla to blueberry, to strawberry, to blackberry and more.
“We change them out every few days,” Stahl said.
The machine has one hose and the flavors are chosen with the touch of a button to mix with the vanilla.
The business will also offer Dole whip ice cream this year which is vegan and lactose free, but still contains sugar.
Choo’s Choo’s opened noticeably late this year due to some personal issues.
According to Stahl, Banellis previously ran the business with his brother and sister-in-law. The three have since parted ways and Banellis purchased their share of the business.
As part of an agreement with the buyout, Choo’s Choo’s will have to change its name, and will soon be called Twisterz.
“We sat around one night and we just started throwing names out because we knew we had to change,” Stahl said. “We decided Twisterz, and thought it would be cute because we twist our ice cream and we have bright colors. We have a graphic designer working on our logo and we’re excited.”
The new name will be incorporated around the end of June, Stahl said.
Heading into year two, Stahl and Banellis are looking forward to repeating the success of year one.
“We’re looking forward to the same great customers that we had,” Stahl had. “Ice cream is so much fun, and it can be stressful and tiring, but we love our customers. I like nothing better, at night, when we’re busy to go out with samples and walk through and see kids with ice cream on their face and people bringing their dogs. It’s a fun business to have, and we’re looking forward to a great season.”
Choo Choo’s Ice Cream is located at 434 Main St. in Dupont and is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 2 to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
