Hershey's Ice Cream of Bellmore Celebrates Grand Opening

Tommy Gies remembered when he and his brothers would sit in a McDonald's in Merrick and laugh and enjoy treats as children.

As adults, they wanted to give kids a place where they can eat and socialize.

"Our hopes were to provide a nice place for the kids of Bellmore to sit and eat ice cream," Gies said.

Gies and his brothers, Bobby and Ronnie, of Merrick, celebrated the grand opening of their Hershey's Ice Cream shop at 305-309 Bedford Ave. on Saturday. The store was full of patrons, indulging in an array of ice cream flavors, on its opening day.

"We got a beautiful day and the store is extremely crowded," Gies said. "People are definitely excited that Hershey's opened in Bellmore."

The shop is set up as a 50s-style ice cream parlor with seating areas, memorabilia of the time adorned on the walls and music of the 50s blaring.

"The 50s was the golden era where people were always talking about going to sweet shops," Gies said. "When you watch 'Grease' the kids are sitting in a parlor, eating ice cream."

Gies said that he and his brothers decided to open a Hershey's two months ago.

"My brother, Bobby, was on Bedford Avenue and saw the vacant space and then it started to click," he said.

Courtney Miller of Freeport decided to stop at Hershey's to enjoy some of America's favorite dessert with her family.

"It is beautiful and it is family owned," she said as she watched her 2-year-old son, Hunter, devour his ice cream. "It is a great addition to the neighborhood. I will be here all the time."

Gies said that he hopes that he and brothers can bring a little sweetness to Bedford Avenue.

"We are brothers who enjoy having a good time and making people happy, and ice cream makes people happy," he said.