Nelsons Ice Cream reopens with renovations

Gallery • 6 Photos

Megan Friederichs

Photo by Megan Friedrich Senior Gabrielle Arland said, “I love serving people because they are so excited to get their ice cream and I like that we have affordable prices and huge sizes. The atmosphere is incredible and I think that’s what makes Nelson’s special.” Nelson’s is well known for its generous servings of ice cream that make it a favorite place in town.

Nelson’s Ice Cream reopened April 3 with some new changes. The popular small town ice cream store was renovated over the 2014/2015 winter months. The renovations include items such as a new roof, new floors and also new walls. The inside has completely shifted and is now extremely modern.

 The renovations have created a more effective workplace for this old time ice cream store. It also created a more efficient experience to decrease the time of waiting. A few things that have remained the same are the quality and quantity of ice cream.

 “Things have been smoother behind the counter and that makes business run smoother.  Also the little things like adding a handle to the back door just make things more efficient,” said senior employee Gabrielle Arland.

 The efficiency of Nelson’s has improved since the last renovation which was more than 20 years ago. The smallest things, like the addition of the door handle, gets people in and out with their ice cream that much faster.

 “I think the biggest things were the floors since the customers were the ones walking on them.  The ATM was moved to a more convenient location as well.  The flavor board was moved to the center of the store and the windows were moved to the side,” said Arland.

 Wait time has gone down significantly and it helps Nelsons to serve more customers. The new flavor boards are also a lot easier to read, which helps to reduce the wait time.

 “I think moving the window really helped with the line because it allows the workers to see how long the line is to better serve customers and it also allows them to know whether they have to rush or if there is time to have a conversation with customers,” said junior Abrielle Prunty.

 The renovation of floors was one of the major changes because with all of the people in and out of there on a daily basis, the chances of them staying nice are slim to none. The new tile put in place is more visually appealing, as well as a good replacement to the old cracked and worn out flooring there previously.

 “I really like how they moved the windows because it feels a lot brighter and cheerier in there now. I think the addition of new lights also helps that as well,” said senior Sam McCoy.

 The windows were shifted from behind the ice cream to the left side, right when customers walk into the door. It allows for a lot more natural light, but also for employees to look outside and see how long the line is for waiting.

 “We have the same ice cream, the same sizes and the same prices.  We did get a new flavor: banana split,” said Arland.

 Although the inside was completely remodeled, the ice cream has not changed, the prices have not increased and customers still receive the same large quantity of ice cream.

 The renovations at Nelson’s have positively impacted the efficiency of the store and will help to better serve customers in a shorter amount of time. The ice cream still comes spilling out of the top of the cups for the same low price as before.