Ice Cream Man coming to Saratoga; pizza to follow

PHOTOGRAPHER: Tatiana Zarnowski

Ice cream cones will once again pass over the counter at the former Alexandra’s Ice Cream stand on South Broadway, and the flavor will be familiar to people who now drive to Washington County for an Ice Cream Man fix.

The ice cream stand attached to the old Saratoga Pizza House will sell ice cream from the popular Greenwich restaurant within weeks. And the pizza house is slated to become a Papa John’s franchise by the end of summer.

Owner Russ Faden plans to start serving ice cream in about two weeks, before thoroughbred racing starts July 19 at Saratoga Race Course.

Faden, who owns nine Subway shops in the area, believes the creamy treats will be popular in Saratoga Springs.

“It’s going to be pretty much the same menu” as the Ice Cream Man, he said. “They’re going to be happy to not have to drive to Greenwich.”

Even though the former pizza house has been closed for a couple years, it’s still well-known in town, Faden said.

“People still know that it’s pizza and ice cream,” he said. “We think [the new business is] going to kind of revitalize that building.”

The Papa John’s will take longer to open — until the end of August or beginning of September — because Faden will be redoing the interior, including bringing in new kitchen equipment and furnishings.

“The inside’s going to be completely different,” he said.

The pizza shop’s interior will have some seating, and Faden will add outdoor seating to serve both sides of the business.

Papa John’s normally does mostly a takeout and delivery business, but Faden thinks this location may get more customers who want to eat in.

“I think with that location particularly you do get a lot of walk-in traffic, from just SPAC and the track and the state park, that I think having some seats would be good.”

The pizza joint will deliver within a 10-minute radius, including all of Saratoga Springs and just outside the city limits.

“We’re real excited about it,” Faden said. “I think it has a lot of potential.”

When both sides of the business are up and running, he will have about 30 new employees.