Jersey Mike's franchisees opening downtown ice cream shop

When the new 18th Street South Jersey Mike's location opens, franchise owners Patrick and Jennifer Decker plan to have an ice cream and treats shop open next door.

Renovations start on June 1 in the former Four Seasons gallery space, 2910 18th St. S., to split it into two businesses. One will be a 1,400-square-foot Jersey Mike's sub sandwich shop. The second will be Scoops, which Patrick Decker said will sell ice cream, gelato, sorbets, italian ice, gourmet popcorn and soft pretzels in its 1,100-square-foot space.

"Gelato's not really big in the South yet, so hopefully we can be the ones that do it," Decker said.

Decker said his wife came up with the idea, but neither of them had experience in making these types of desserts. They're planning to learn all they can before Jersey Mike's and Scoops open in mid-August, so they can make everything in-house.

"We'll be learning just as much as our customers will be when we open," Decker said.

Scoops will feature different flavors of their frozen treats each week, and Decker said he plans to have customers vote on what they'd like to try next. The flavors of popcorn and pretzel toppings will also change. They will also offer a "popcorn club" and an "ice cream club," where a box of gourmet popcorn or ice cream will be delivered to customers' homes each month.

"It'll be easy for teacher appreciation gifts, birthday parties, that kind of stuff," said Katie Crago, Jersey Mike's special event coordinator.

Custom-made ice cream cakes will also be available to order, Decker said. He'd like to add a patio area to Scoops in the future.

Decker said he feels like Scoops will be a good addition to the downtown restaurant offerings. Currently, the closest ice cream location is the TCBY on 28th Avenue South. Other Homewood frozen treat shops include Edgewood Creamery, Magic City Sweet Ice and Steel City Pops.

Jersey Mike's will celebrate its opening with a fundraiser for the Homewood City Schools, Crago said. Scoops will host its own opening celebrations benefiting the Bell Center and Exceptional Foundation. This will include two VIP nights for families involved with those organizations and an opening fundraiser with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Bell Center and the Exceptional Foundation.

"My youngest went to the Bell Center, so obviously it's a special place for me, too," Crago said.