The old Coin-Op Laundry on Stevenson Lane in Berlin will get a facelift, courtesy of the Island Creamery. The building is being used as storage for the popular ice cream shop on Main Street.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(March 15, 2018) After years of sitting dormant, the old Coin-Op Laundry on 4 Stevenson Lane in Berlin will get a much-needed facelift.

The building has served as a commercial storage facility for ubiquitous ice cream shop Island Creamery since its opening last May.

Owner Kelly Conklin, during a Historic District Commission meeting last Wednesday, said some interior demolitions had already occurred.

He said no ice cream would be produced in the building at this time and the shop would not move from its current location on Main Street.

Conklin plans to remove the old Coin-Op sign, paint the building, refurbish the awning, and add flower boxes.

He said a refrigeration compressor on the exterior side of the building, facing the large public parking lot, would be disguised with a fence. Two large windows on the front, found to be rotten, will be replaced with something resembling a sliding barn door.

“If I knew where you were when I opened this packet and looked at this, I would’ve come and given you a hug, because, oh my, this is wonderful compared to how it looked,” committee Chairwoman Carol Rose said. “Growing up here, I can tell you this is going to be wonderful.”

Other committee members expressed similar sentiments of gratitude.

“I was, same as [Rose], taken with the change,” Laura Sterns said. “I love the idea of the black and white awning … I think it’ll be a nice addition.”

The commission unanimously approved the alternations.

“I take you at your word that you will put screening [around the compressor], because if you do not I will hound you, hound you, hound you until it gets up there,” Rose said. “We’re having a problem with something that got approved in November and is still not done.”

“Hopefully, we have a good track record with you after what we did at 120 North Main,” Conklin said, referring to the well-received renovations of the Island Creamery building and adjacent patio area.

The shop, which opened last May, was immediately popular in downtown Berlin and frequently had lines of customers spilling outside and onto the sidewalk.

“Are you all happy with your business?” commission member Mary Moore asked.

Conklin emphatically replied, “Thrilled!”

“So are we,” several commission members said at once.

Rose said she made many ice cream cones in the building during the 1960s, when it was a Dairy Queen and she worked there on summer vacation.

“We’re always looking for help if you’d like to come back,” Conklin said with a laugh.

Also during the meeting, the commission approved signs for Attics of My Life, Bird of Paradise and Snapdragon Boutique and Gallery.