The city issued a construction permit March 28 for Dreamette Ice Cream Springfield.
Owners Jimmy and Mari Van Soest said March 18 they expect to open the ice cream shop in about eight weeks.
First Coast Walls and Ceilings Inc. will build-out the shop at 1401 N. Main St. in a former service station in Historic Springfield, several blocks north of Downtown.
The 1,900-square-foot, 92-year-old building will be renovated at a construction cost of $60,000. The dreametteicecream.com site says the shop is coming to Springfield in the spring next to Fred Cotten’s Landmark BBQ. It is seeking employees.
The city issued a permit March 16 for Thompson Awning to install awnings over the windows.
Jimmy Van Soest is president of Dreamette of Springfield Inc.
A Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, working in the Avondale office, Van Soest said the couple expects to invest about $100,000 in the project.
It will offer walk-up service with outdoor standup tables and a counter in the breezeway. There is no seating.
The Dreamette Ice Cream Springfield will serve shakes, banana splits, sundaes, soft serve cones and cups, dips, freezes, slushes and more.
The Van Soests expect to hold events that support schools and nonprofits and to offer activities that engage the community.
“We want to be an experience other than eating a cone of ice cream,” Mari Van Soest said.
Springfield, established in 1869 and the city’s oldest neighborhood, has been adding restaurants, retail stores and breweries on the main corridor leading north from Downtown.
The 1401 N. Main St. structure was built in 1930, according to city property records.
Investor Michael Trautmann bought the property in 1999.
He said previously it was built as a Standard Oil service station.
The building is masonry on structural brick. He said Standard Oil fully remediated the property.
Its previous tenants include car stereo installation and window tinting and political campaign offices. The last tenant was a custom motorcycle design business.
RAM Architecture of Jacksonville is the contractor for the Dreamette Ice Cream Springfield renovation. Legacy Engineering Inc of Jacksonville reviewed the plans for code compliance.
The original Dreamette opened in October 1948 at 3646 Post St. It has licensed other locations over the years.
