Franklins in Hyattsville is expanding its general store as it makes plans to eventually add an ice cream shop next door.

Owner Mike Franklin told the Hyattsville Wire that the store will have more space for toys, tchotchkes, jewelry and wine and beer.

“We’re basically expanding a lot of the areas for things that people don’t like to buy on the internet because they need to touch and feel them,” he said.

The remodeled area will include 36 case stacks for wine, and the selection will be expanded to feature a lot more “really good wines for under $10,” in order to keep up with increased competition from nearby Yes! Organic Market and the Town Center Market in Riverdale Park.

Franklin is also planning a small ice cream shop that would sell a dozen to two dozen flavors of house-made ice cream when it opens. He plans to test out the equipment and experiment with different flavors over the next year, perhaps with locally sourced ingredients such as Vigilante Coffee beans.

The ice cream shop may not open for a year or longer due to construction and the current pace of permitting in Prince George’s County, but Franklin said it will have entrances on both Route 1 and the Rhode Island Avenue Trolley Trail that runs behind the building.

He said he expects a lot of bikers and walkers will head down the trail for ice cream, while some others may be inspired to visit downtown Hyattsville to try it out.

“People will travel for good ice cream,” he said. “It’s kind of like beer, or distilleries. There are people who are passionate about ice cream who will come visit an area just to try it out.”

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