Chilling in Afton at Selma's

Renee Jones Schneider, Star Tribune

Sidney Williams-Goldberg, 7, and her friend Emma Mueller, 6, shared a bench outside Selma’s as they ate ice cream after a long day at the beach. Selma’s, the landmark ice cream parlor in Afton, reopened in July. It had closed last summer after then-owner Joe Farrington died, leaving its future in doubt.

By Kevin Giles, Star Tribune

Last update: August 5, 2008 - 11:56 PM

Afton has an ice cream parlor again, and Katie Seltz tells how the town and the little white shop go cone in hand. "If you tell somebody you live in Afton they say, 'Oh! Selma's!'" said Seltz, an 18-year-old nanny who showed up one muggy afternoon with the children in her care, 13-year-old Claire Freesmeier and her brother, 9-year-old Jack.

Phill McMullen knows all about the tradition. He's been around long enough to have witnessed Selma Holberg herself at work behind the counter. "She was more interested in conversing with the customers than selling ice cream," said McMullen, of Nisswa, Minn., who bought his first cone from her nearly 50 years ago.

The century-old Washington County attraction, shuttered since owner Joe Farrington died in the midst of a dispute over his development plans last summer, reopened July 4. New owner Chet Kurtz said business is brisk at Selma's, possibly the longest-operating ice cream shop in Minnesota.

"People are just saying, 'Thank you,'" he said. "It's been an unbelievable experience."

Now called "Selma's and Panino's at Afton," the old ice cream parlor will remain much the same as fans remember, Kurtz said. The Panino's portion that will be built in the back will become a sandwich restaurant, Kurtz said, similar to Panino's at the University of Minnesota, in North Oaks, and in Hudson, Wis.

"I'm really happy that the new owners are sincerely interested in carrying on the tradition," said McMullen, who recently stopped for cones with his wife, Jean, his daughter Molly Krakowski of Stillwater and her son, 3-year-old Maxwell.

Vickie Armstrong, who manages the reopened Selma's, said many customers come there to reminisce about romantic times in their past. As the Platters' "Only You" played in the background, Armstrong described a married couple in their 60s who told her they'd had their first date at Selma's many years ago. And young folks, like a teenage girl who had her senior pictures taken in front of Selma's, want to make memories, too.

"It's just a very warm atmosphere," said Armstrong, who worked for Kurtz at his North Oaks restaurant before taking the Afton job. "Selma's is known for families."

The unadorned white building dates to the Civil War, when ammunition was stored in the cellar. Selma's has sold ice cream almost continually since the early 1900s. It has attracted bicyclists traveling a national trail from Canada to Mexico, employed more than 500 teenagers in their first jobs, and developed a word-of-mouth reputation that drew customers from all over the country.

Selma's will remain open year-round, Kurtz said, to serve skiers at nearby Afton Alps this winter and to drive home his belief that the little shop on St. Croix Trail will stick around this time. Kurtz has a liquor license for the Panino's portion, which he hopes to open in about a month. That business, which will have a separate entrance behind Selma's, will serve sandwiches, soups, salads and pastas, he said.

Kurtz said running a business in Afton is different from anything he's experienced.

"I never got that small-town feeling before being in Afton," he said.

Kevin Giles • 651-298-1554

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