New Ice Cream Joint, Café, Opening at Former Ryan’s Red Box Deli

From the time she was a teen working at the original Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream & Yogurt shop in Youngstown, Ohio, Linda Chahine has imagined running her own ice cream business. 

“This has been literally a lifelong dream for me,” she said.

Later this month, those dreams will come true.

Chahine, who recently moved to Harmony from Youngstown, is hoping to have the IceBox Creamery & Café open within the next two weeks. 

The business is located on Old Freedom Road and Nicklas Drive at the former Ryan’s Red Box Deli, which closed over the winter.

Chahine, who worked as an attorney and in the financial industry before pursuing her dream of opening an ice cream shop, said the IceBox will feature homemade ice cream, ice cream cakes, baked goods and high-end coffee. 

In the future, Chahine said she may add breakfast to the menu.

“Everything is going to be made fresh on the premises,” she said.

Because the 2,100 square foot space is so large, Chahine, who has been redecorating the former deli in the Neapolitan colors of pink, white and brown, said she’d also offer birthday parties in the café.

“I’m thrilled with the way it’s set up here,” she said.

She added the Icebox, which will offer at least 25 ice cream flavors and a few sorbets, will be open year round.

Inspired by the ice creams she used to mix up while running the original Handel’s, which has since blossomed into a chain of stores, Chahine said her own ice cream would feature fresh fruits, nuts and even tea flavors.

When she worked at the Youngstown business in the 1970s and '80s, Chahine recalled lines that snaked around the building as people waited for their ice cream. 

People from western Pennsylvania often would call the shop to ask how long the lines were before they made the trip across the state line, she said.

“It was so special at the time,” she said.

Chahine, who will be at the shop full-time, hopes to recreate the same atmosphere in Cranberry. Before settling on the former deli, Chahine said she searched for years to find the perfect ice cream location.

She added she wouldn’t miss leaving behind her former jobs. Although she spent years working in law, Chahine said the bleak realities of some of the cases never made her happy.

Ice cream, she noted, puts everyone in a good mood, especially her.

“It’s the only job I’ve every enjoyed doing,” she said. “Ice cream makes people happy.”  

The IceBox will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

Are you excited for the new ice cream shop to open in Cranberry? Tell us in the comment section below.