After Delay, Low Fat Ice Cream Shop Coming Soon

Commack's D'Lites Emporium will finally be open for business the last week of this month or the first week of December, said owner Matt Prince.

"It's not the ideal time to be opening but I'm just happy to be getting the doors open," Prince said. The store was originally but Prince said he's been tied up in obtaining permits and meeting other requirements set by the Town of Smithtown.

Prince said he was also held up by some code problems the town had with the Mayfair Shopping Center where he is building his store.

"They really put us through the wringer," he said, adding that the adjustments he made cost a significant amount of money, but that the property's landlord is working with him to share the cost.

"I think it's a great location," Prince said of the site, which he said was the first site found of three locations he owns - and it was the hardest to get going. One in Babylon has been open since May, and another in Bayside is on track to open in the coming weeks also, he said.

The Commack store took some extra work because it was going from "dry" to "wet," as it was a Verizon Wireless store before. Plumbing and electrical needed to be put in, but that stage is "all closed up" now, Prince said.

"Now, it's just making the place pretty - puting in the counters, all the furniture," Prince said. He said the finished product would be an ice cream parlor with a "very upscale" feel.

Prince got involved with the Florida-based low fat, low sugar frozen dessert chain after he tried some of its ice cream with his kids, one of whom has special dietary restrictions but could eat D'Lites's gluten-free treats. 

"I was expecting it to be terrible, but it tasted like Carvel. I couldn't believe it," he said.

The chain has come under fire recently, due to a "Shame Shame Shame" segment that aired on Fox 5 News last spring. In the report, reporter Arnold Diaz alleged lab tests revealed the carbohydrate, fat and sugar content in the desserts served by D'Lites were much higher than the company advertised.

In June, Prince against Fox 5 and its parent company, News Corp, calling the report "grossly irresponsible."

Since the initial airing, several D'Lites franchisees in Florida have filed a lawsuit against D'Lites on claims that the product was misrepresented to them.

Prince said the Commack store will offer frozen yogurt and candy as well as ice cream. He said it will be the first self-service store of his three.