In the Know: What happened to Emack & Bolio’s and Naples Ice Cream Factory?

Q: Do you know what happened to Emack & Bolio’s in the Vander­bilt Collection? We re­ally enjoyed the friendly owners and yummy ice cream! They will be missed.

— T.K., Naples

A: John and Ayfer Paul closed their Emack & Bolio’s last weekend af­ter operating nearly four years in the Shoppes at Vanderbilt on the north­west corner of Airport-Pulling and Vanderbilt Beach roads in North Naples.

“We loved the shop. This was our little baby,” Ayfer Paul said. “We had loyal customers and we really enjoyed every minute spending time with them.”

Competition from a new, similar business — Let’s Yo! yogurt shop — that opened in May in the same shopping cen­ter was enough to make a difference to the only local Emack & Bolio’s franchise, she said. Both stores are part of small chains offering hip, frozen concoctions.

“It’s been really sad for us. We could not compete with the com­petition,” Ayfer Paul said. “It took our busi­ness. It’s devastating for my husband and myself.”

The local shop’s web­site now features a mes­sage to customers signed by the Pauls: “Thank you for your loyal patronage. We en­joyed the privilege of having the best product and the most loyal cus­tomers possible. Cir­cumstances gave us no option other than clos­ing the shop. We hope to serve you again in the future.”

The Boston-based Emack & Bolio’s has two other Florida loca­tions — one at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando and another at Hawks Cay Resort on Duck Key in the Middle Keys. Another location is set to open on Miami’s South Beach in November.

Photo by TIM ATEN // Buy this photo

Naples Ice Cream Factory closed in September 2012 in Green Tree Center on the corner of Airport-Pulling and Immokalee roads in North Naples. Jack and Rita's Homemade Ice Cream recently opened there.

NAPLES ICE CREAM FACTORY

Emack & Bolio’s is not the only ice cream parlor to recently close in North Naples.

Naples Ice Cream Factory in Green Tree Center on the corner of Airport-Pulling and Immokalee roads closed last week. Despite its “factory” name, the local business made all flavors of its hard ice cream by hand.

Owner Amy Spinelli closed as quietly as she opened a couple of years ago. She posted this sign on the shop’s door and window:

“Naples Ice Cream Factory is closed due to owner illness. This space will reopen as a brand new ice cream shop in the fall. Thank you — it has been a pleasure serving you and this community. Amy.”

Jack Crifasi, the manager and leasing agent of the shopping center, reached agreement Monday with another tenant for a new ice cream store.

“They will make their own ice cream on the premises, refurbish the interior and have a broad selection of products,” he said.

Crifasi said he did not know the name of the new business or when it will open.

Another new food-related business will open soon in the nearby former location of Taste of Chicago sandwich shop that closed in April in Green Tree, he said.

“Both should be leased within the next 30 days,” Crifasi said. “We have a number of prospective tenants who have expressed an interest in it.”

MORE LOCAL RESTAURANT NEWS

Photo by TIM ATEN // Buy this photo

Trattoria Abruzzo Cucina Italiana opened Sept. 4, 2012, in The Pavilion shopping center in the former location of the Heidelberg Bistro and Bohemian Schnitzelhouse next to the movie cinema in North Naples.

■ Trattoria Abruzzo Cucina Italiana opened Sept. 4 in The Pavilion shopping center in the former location of the Heidelberg Bistro and Bohemian Schnitzelhouse next to Cinemas 10 in North Naples. Trattoria Abruzzo is named for the region in central Italy where executive chef and co-owner Ettore Laccetti was born.

Laccetti, who grew up in an Italian family of restaurateurs, has been the executive chef at many area restaurants, including Casa Mia Italian Steakhouse and DaVinci’s on Marco Island, as well as Ristorante D’Angeli, Roman Bread Oven and Michelangelo’s in Naples. The chef said his most popular dish is lobster ravioli, which is stuffed with real lobster meat and finished with a cognac pink cream sauce.

“The pasta, everything is made from scratch. That’s basically my pride,” he said.

The remodeled restaurant seats 28 inside and 24 outside. Hours are 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. for dinner Monday through Saturday.

Trattoria Abruzzo, 835 Vanderbilt Beach Road: 239-596- 8010.

Photo by TIM ATEN // Buy this photo

The former location of Absinthe in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt, 2355 Vanderbilt Beach Road, suite 200, North Naples, will be the home of The Basin restaurant, set to open in October 2012.

■ The Basin, a unique restaurant for classic American cuisine with a French flair, is opening next month in the former location of Absinthe in the Galleria Shoppes at Vanderbilt, 2355 Vanderbilt Beach Road, suite 200, North Naples. Absinthe closed April 30 after operating for more than four years.

The Basin is targeted to open Oct. 12, said manager Peter Adamik, a professional photographer who relocated to Naples seven years ago.

His wife, Ludy, is managing the kitchen. The Adamiks’ daughter, Monica, who will manage the venue’s full bar, created the restaurant’s name — an anagram of Absinthe — using all the letters in the old restaurant’s name to create the new name.

The local restaurant will operate similar to buffet-style dining, but it’s not an all-you-can-eat venue. Diners pay $9.99 for all they can fit on a small plate, or $16.99 for all they can fit on a regular-size plate, Adamik said.

“Just pick a plate — small or regular — and fill your plate with as much or as little as you’d like,” according to the menu.

The menu includes appetizers such as smoked salmon bites, shrimp cakes and pate squares, meat lovers entrees such as honey chipotle ribs, sliders, sausages, French pork and mesquite drumsticks, and vegetarian options such as potato pancakes, baked broccoli with cheese and potatoes, and fried cauliflower. Not all items are available at all times, the menu notes.

“We wanted to have something different, and nobody has something like that in the area,” Adamik said.

The Basin has 150 seats indoors and more than 20 tables on a shady terrace.

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"In the Know" is published Mondays and Wednesdays in the Naples Daily News. Find a complete archive of "In the Know" columns at naplesnews.com/intheknow.