Beanie's Honors the Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor

I scream, you scream. We all scream for ice cream. It’s not generally a sentiment written on a bathroom wall, but this is the cheerful thought scrawled in bright red on the bathroom wall at Beanie’s, an ice cream parlor and old-fashioned candy shop that officially opened earlier this year on Wise Avenue, in plenty of time for this spring and summer.

The shop features lunch items like tuna and chicken salad, hot dogs and pizza, with recent additions of corn dogs and pulled pork. Ice cream reigns, however.

Banana splits, sundaes with wet walnuts, floats, milkshakes and the old standard ice cream cone can be whipped up to feature any of 32 flavors. Want a little snack? You’ll find something on the candy counter. See how many you remember: wax lips, flying saucers, sky bars, dots. This summer brings snowballs.

Roberta Groh, who owns the shop with Ray, her husband of 20 years, explained that the idea of running a nostalgic ice cream parlor had simmered in the back of her mind for years, but it took the death of a loved one for her to decide it was time to make it happen.

“People say ‘tomorrow,’ but we’re not promised tomorrow,” she said.

Groh had operated a tanning salon in the space next door to her current business for eight years when she decided to chase her ice cream dream. Since she loves the neighborhood, when she sold the tanning salon, her intention was to redo the existing space as Beanie’s.

The tanning salon’s new owners wanted both the business and the space, so Groh had to rethink the plan. Even though she would have to relocate, she was determined to stay in the immediate area. Groh started negotiating for the spot next door to the tanning salon.

“I’ve lived in this neighborhood my whole life,” she said, pointing in the direction of her childhood neighborhood as well as her current street. “I wasn’t going to give up until I got this spot.”

Once Groh had cajoled the owner into letting her have the location, Beanie’s started to physically evolve. While the name reflects various themes at the shop (vanilla beans and jelly beans), its origin is a symbol of the past, the shop’s theme. Ray, the youngest of 10 children in his family, was nicknamed Beanie as a youngster.

According to Groh, her family—Ray, daughter Erica and son Anthony—have put a lot of sweat equity into the space to make it happen. Anthony built the quaint counter space, Erica added the bright red, freehand bathroom sentiment and the family installed black and white flooring reminiscent of yesteryear’s soda shops. Roberta surfed online in search of retro tables and design elements.

All the while, the family studied the ice cream business.

“I found out there’s an art to scooping out ice cream,” Groh laughed. Her Hershey’s representative gave them insights as to what sells best, and he gifted several decorative retro items.

“My customers have taught me a lot, too,” Groh said. Just recently, a young lady brought in a recipe for making ice cream floats. Her husband played guinea pig, testing out Groh’s first batches, and now the floats are on the menu.

Other customers have donated items for the shop's décor. While Roberta and Ray bought the main items to get Beanie’s up and running, and added the labor to create the old-fashioned flavor, the rest has been a bit of a collaboration.

One customer brought in an oversize plastic ice cream cone that had once been a design element in her home. It sits nestled in the corner of the handmade counter. Other customers and friends have donated Coca Cola memorabilia.

Beanie’s opened just two days after Christmas, and held an official grand opening Jan. 8. New customers joined in for a Hula Hoop contest and tested out some of the flavors. Groh was afraid the grand opening would be a bit slow, but it filled up immediately, she said.

Despite a winter opening, the neighborhood has responded by keeping Roberta and family (including nephews) working in the shop seven days a week. “There’s really no down day,” said Groh.

Beanie’s: 301 Wise Ave., Dundalk, 21222. 410-282-1134. Hours: Mon.-Sun., 11 a.m.-8 p.m.