A new ice cream shop is planning to bring new flavors to Five Points.
A Ben and Jerry’s franchise, the first in Duval County, is expected to open this spring at 1027 Park Street in the former Jane Doe Boutique space, which closed in April.
The site is currently awaiting a permit from the city to begin its buildout of 844 square feet at the location, according to owners Justin and Daiana Renaldo, who are relatively new to Jacksonville but fell in love with Five Points.
“When we were looking for locations, we were looking for walkability, we were looking for locals, we were looking for just something that would fit the Ben and Jerry’s brand in terms of what Ben and Jerry stands for,” Daiana said. “So, this area just made sense to us.”
She added that Five Points fit perfectly with their desire to find an area that is accepting and open to all types of people. The fact that Five Points feels primed for growth was a bonus, she added.
“We’re newcomers here, and we want to make sure that we fit the community,” Daiana said. “What everyone’s been trying to preserve in that area is really important to us.”
The Renaldos acknowledge the fact that they won’t be the only ice cream shop in the area: Waffle Cone is just a few doors down, and Screaming Cat Ice Cream and Coffee is at the corner of Park and King streets. Expanding the radius encompasses Malachi’s Ice Cream Bar across the street from Memorial Park and Mayday Ice Cream in Brooklyn.
“We’re definitely excited to be part of the Jacksonville community, especially in the Five Point area, and I just want people to understand that we’re locally owned and we’re not here to kick anybody out,” Justin said. “We’re actually here to give back and have some fun and serve some ice cream.”
Daiana added, “It’s okay to have healthy competition. We’re not here to tell anyone not to go to Waffle Cone. If that’s where you’ve been going and you’ve got history, absolutely keep going.”
Following the announcement of the incoming Ben and Jerry’s, many in the community have expressed their concern or disapproval of the new business moving into the area.
“I love Ben and Jerry, however, there’s plenty of small local ice cream businesses already in walking distance of each other,” said Amy Davis, an area resident and small business owner. “Riverside/Five Points needs to focus more on diversity when considering the next business to be opened. Why do we need 10 Mexican and Asian spots, nine pizza shops, and now another ice cream shop to compete with the other four or five in the area?”
After hearing the uproar from residents, Cassidy Darmata, who owns Waffle Cone with her husband, Seth, posted a statement to the ice cream shop’s social media last December. The statement read, in part:
“Our goal has always been for the vacant spots in 5 [sic] Points to be filled – for it to thrive, whether that meant other dessert places or not…We’re not asking for a boycott, and we’re not asking for any negativity; we’re asking for the opposite. Just keep coming, keep supporting. This holiday season, put your money back into your community and invest it into what you want to see more of.”
“We just want to see the neighborhood do well, and it’s unfortunate that it’s an ice cream shop for us,” Seth Darmata added. “But as a neighborhood, we just want to see these stores be filled because everybody does better when there are more people walking around.”
The number one problem in Five Points is the store vacancies, he said.
He also believes the primary concern for people is not necessarily another ice cream shop, but the big, recognizable name on its storefront.
“I think it was more of just people’s fear of the tide changing in the neighborhood,” he said.
Five Points Association Secretary Dana Riley expressed a similar concern that it could change the area’s landscape and make it look like “Anywheresville”; however, she encouraged people to continue supporting locally owned small businesses.
“There are so many wonderfully vibrant and invested merchants, people and property owners in Five Points, I believe that together we will not only maintain the integrity of Five Points, we will excel in creating a destination that attracts people from all over the city and beyond. Five Points is just plain fun, and funky,” Riley said.
The Renaldos understand the concern but also wanted to remind people that, while they have the name of a large corporation for their franchise, they are locally owned and operated, and no one is backing them financially.
“We’re going to be in the communities and we’re going to be a part of the cleanup,” Daiana said. “We’re going to be a part of the local schools. Whatever it takes to earn the respect of the locals there because we’re locals, too. We’re just selling Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.”
