by GEOFF FOX
A new ice cream shop has opened in Hancock just in time to help folks cool off in the summer heat.
The Fractured Banana, owned by Tim Smith and Linda Smith, held their grand opening on August 1, dishing out close to 300 cones and that’s not counting cups or sundaes.
The idea for an ice cream shop came to the Smiths about eight or nine years ago.
When the location at 101 West Main Street opened up, it was the perfect time to start the shop, said Smith.
There was one twist. When everything got going, the young man who was a force behind the idea –a boy the Smiths helped raise — decided to join the Marines.
“It was his idea to get something like this here in town, but he needed our help,” Smith said.
Both Smiths were up for the idea and thought it would work out great for the town.
When he comes back from the Marines, Smith said the shop would be waiting for their boy.
“It’s just been kind of a thing we anticipated having, but it didn’t get real until he came to us and said, ‘Let’s do this,’” Smith said.
The Smiths have been working on getting the location ready since late 2018, enlisting friends to help rip out carpets, take trash out, carpentry work, and other tasks.
They decided to decorate with an eye toward something you would see on the beach. And they did just that.
The walls are weathered, white boards that look like shipwrecked wood with teal paint underneath, kickboards and nautical themed items line the walls.
There are also white ceiling fans keeping the shop cool.
An old shelving unit in the form of a boat even found its way to the shop and the lights in the front windows are repurposed from and old Burger King from Ocean City, said Smith.
Outside, the shop is painted a bright yellow with a surfing banana on the front and the American Flag painted on the side of the building.
The green surfboard also came from Ocean City, Linda Smith said.
Having the surfboard and lights come from Ocean City, “it was like it was all meant,” she said.
The shop is also reminiscent of a boardwalk shop in Ocean City. It’s a walk-in shop and you eat outside.
“We don’t have a boardwalk, but you go outside to eat,” Linda Smith said.
Tim Smith said while sitting at the tables outside, you can listen to music and pretend it’s a resort.
The name has its roots in a donut shop in Ocean City, too.
Smith said the name originated when their young man was about 5 years old and wanted a donut from “The Fractured Prune” each morning. Instead, he called the store the “Fractured Banana.”
“I don’t where he got that from,” Linda Smith said.
Smith said they needed a catchy name for the shop and something with banana, so the name fit.
The ice cream shop serves hand dipped Hershey’s ice cream in cones, sundaes, banana splits, and milkshakes; floats; lollipops, which are snow cones with vanilla ice cream; and cold drinks.
There are also cupcakes and other baked treats from Snix Snax Shax Bakery, as well as Stewart’s sodas.
Since opening on Saturday, Smith said they’ve been so busy his legs hurt all night and can’t get any rest.
Fractured Banana is open every day from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. They can be reached at 301-678-6800.
The Fractured Banana, located at 101 West Main Street, held their grand opening on August 1.
