Wait almost over for grand opening of Stricklands ice cream in Fairlawn, launching Friday

Banana and Reese's Cup will be the special flavors of the day when Stricklands of Fairlawn celebrates its grand opening from noon to 9 p.m. Friday.

The newest Stricklands franchise, located at 2890 Sand Run Parkway, will run those special flavors for three days, through the weekend. Franchise co-owners Shane and Lindsey Price of Wadsworth chose the "hugely popular" banana fruit flavor and the ever-popular Reese's Cup candy flavor to launch their business, which also offers vanilla and chocolate daily.

Shane manages the ice cream shop half of the day and Lindsey the other half. They both make the famous Stricklands ice cream in proprietary batch freezers in softer, small-batch amounts that have less air whipped in for a creamier taste.

"We're making fresh ice cream during the day when the customers are here," Shane said. "The key is that customers who come in here are getting fresh ice cream rather than frozen ice cream."

The new Fairlawn location, which will be open from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, will operate through the winter. With the new franchise, Stricklands has finally returned to the west suburbs of Akron after a former Stricklands store closed in 2020 after being open for 19 years in the Montrose area of Bath Township.

The Fairlawn shop had been slated for a July opening but ran into construction delays.

At the new location at Sand Run Parkway and Merz Boulevard, the Prices plan to develop some new flavors of their own. They'll also offer sorbet and sherbet, which were popular at the former Montrose store for those who are lactose intolerant.

The new Fairlawn franchise follows other franchises in Cuyahoga Falls, Streetsboro and Costa Mesa, California. The original, seasonal Strickland's stand in Ellet , owned by third-generation family member Scott Margroff, remains on Triplett Boulevard and was founded in 1936.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Wait almost over for grand opening of Stricklands ice cream in Fairlawn, launching Friday