Business & Tech

Northport Biz Q&A: Ralph's Famous Italian Ices

Nearly 50 customers scooped up frozen treats as Ralph's opened its doors early in response to spring-like temps on Thursday.

In our weekly feature, Patch gets out into the business community to get a feel for the pulse of small business in Northport. This Thursday we stopped in at in East Northport to speak with co-owner Jack Kelly who opened his doors months ahead of time in response to what is shaping up to be an early spring.

1. What's most popular here? We have water ices, cream ices, and more. Peanut butter fudge pretzel is a favorite flavor and banana fudge is my personal favorite. When I bought the place I had no idea they had all these flavors. They have over a hundred cream and water ices and all are homemade by Ralph's.

2. How many people did you have come in Thursday? We had between 30 and 50 people since 3 p.m. And we didn't advertise, I've just been texting people I know that we're open. We didn't have a grand opening, we'll wait until it's May when it's really nice. But it's been good.

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3. Do other Ralph's frachises open at the same time? It's all up to them. You get your first delivery Monday then it's up to you when you want to open. I know a guy that lives in Port Jefferson and he opened.

4. Do you being a special vibe to your franchise? [Co-owner Marty Ciesinski] and I both grew up in East Northport and we both live in Northport, both went to Northport High School, been friends for 30 years so we're hoping to have a local feel to the place.

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5. Do you think opening early will give you a big leg up on business? I have no idea, we'll find out. We bought this at the end of the season in September last year. It gave us some time to get our feet wet and now we're ready.


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