After working in insurance for two decades, Herndon resident Spiro Souliotis is ready to start pursuing his dream: opening an ice cream parlor.
Souliotis originally purchased the future Ice Ice Ice Cream space in the Crossroads of Dulles office condominiums, the same complex where his Allstate insurance agency is located, with the intention of renting it out.
When he learned that the condo already had a permit allowing it to host a restaurant, however, a different idea began to form.
“We had an ah-ha moment between me and my wife and the kids, and we were like, ‘You know what? Why don’t we just open up an ice cream shop?'” Souliotis said. “It’s convenient, it’s right next to the insurance agency, it’ll fulfill my dreams. Obviously, the kids are thumbs up, so we decided to move forward and try to pursue this and make it happen.”
First, the business will have to go through the Town of Herndon. Souliotis has applied for a special exception amendment to expand the operating hours and number of seats allowed for the approximately 950-square-foot suite 104 at 1031 Sterling Road.
Scheduled to be discussed by the Herndon Planning Commission at a work session tonight (Monday), the application requests daily hours of 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and an occupancy allowance of about 36 people, including 30 customers and six employees, Souliotis said in a statement sent to town staff.
The existing conditional use permit, which was first approved in February 1990 for a restaurant called Deli-Licious, allows up to 12 seats and operating hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Other occupants have included Italia’s Deli & Pizzeria and the Boutique Bakeshop.
In his statement, Souliotis contended that the existing conditions would be challenging for an ice cream shop and his proposed new hours would have “little impact” on the community and the condo park’s other tenants, which mostly follow standard 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. business hours.
“Although our business would provide services to many of the neighboring businesses during this time frame, the bulk of our operations would be after business hours, weekends and holidays when families are able to come home and enjoy a nice treat after getting home from a long day at work/school,” he wrote.
According to a report for the planning commission, town staff are recommending that the permit be amended to allow a maximum of 20 seats and hours of operation from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
“A restaurant use has been operating intermittently at this location since 1990 without any negative impacts to the adjacent units or surrounding neighborhood,” planning and zoning staff said in the report. “The expansion of the hours and number of seats are minor enough to not generate negative impacts and the demand for office condominiums has decreased since 1990.”
Pending Herndon’s approval of the special exception amendment, Souliotis anticipates construction on the space could start around November and finish in February. That would enable the business to open right after spring break, which will be in mid-April next year for Fairfax County Public Schools students.
Ice Ice Ice Cream will be a family-run business, and all of the ice cream will be homemade. Souliotis says his family already makes ice cream at home, so they just need to “expand that into a commercial setting.”
The flavors will take inspiration from Europe, particularly Greece, where the family lives during the summer. There may be nods to Greek desserts like baklava and kataifi as well as Kiss and Bueno candy bars. The shop will also have soft-serve ice cream and potentially other desserts, such as poffertjes, the mini Dutch pancakes.
For the design, Souliotis plans to take a more American approach, envisioning a throwback to the pastel colors and checkerboard floors of 1950s-era diners.
“I like the idea of the 1950s diners where everybody used to pull up and…have their ice creams and their [root beer] floats and hang out with the cars outside,” Souliotis told FFXnow. “That’s kind of the route that we’re heading now.”
Since this will be his first venture into the food service industry, Souliotis admits he has some trepidations about what the future might bring, but if all goes well, he hopes to add another, bigger location, ideally in the Route 7 corridor.
“It’s a little different than what I’m used to in the past,” he said. “The good thing is I’ve got a presence in the community for over 20 years at this point, so hopefully, that carries over to this business.”
