Scoops opened its third ice cream store in Lincoln, one month after acquiring Topper Popper, the longtime popcorn store on Cotner Boulevard.
"It's a busy time," said Mike Bretta, who now can claim two toy stores, a Batman-themed bar in the Haymarket and three ice cream stores — with a fourth on the way in south Lincoln — to his portfolio.
On Friday, Bretta officially opened the Scoops Haymarket location at 311 N. Eighth St. It's the former location of 402 Creamery, which comes with its own challenges, he said.
The biggest has been the devotion of 402 Creamery patrons.
"They are very loyal," said Bretta, who has tried to get people to try Scoops ice cream, which he thinks will convert some to his brand of ice cream.
The only difference between the two, he said, is that 402 Creamery's ice cream is made locally, while Scoops' ice cream is made in Michigan.
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"The butterfat content is pretty much the same," Bretta said. "But our employees don't come up with special flavors and all that kind of stuff."
Bretta can offer one thing not available at his predecessor: popcorn. The Haymarket shop will feature a kiosk loaded with every variety of Topper Popper.
"It just makes sense having popcorn here," he said, adding that Scoops will also sell fudge and pineapple whips, a nondairy drink with the consistency of a creamy icy. "We're just going to keep adding stuff because you know it's a snack shop. It's a treat shop."
Meanwhile, the Topper Popper store at 1402 N. Cotner Blvd., will remain open after nearly 60 years of operation.
The building and some of the equipment has fallen into disrepair in recent years, but Bretta has put a new coat of paint on its exterior. He is also gradually fixing the equipment necessary to make the popcorn.
"My main thing is to get all the equipment in there replaced because over the last four or five years, there's always something broken," Bretta said. "When I go in for my Pepsi snowball and the machine is down, that doesn't work for me."