New Ice Cream Parlor Opens in Historic Cedar Valley Train Depot

One of Cedar Falls' oldest buildings has been transformed into a brand new business! Frankie’s Ice Cream Parlor is now open inside the old train depot at 422 Main Street.

About the Building

422 Main Street in Cedar Falls is located at the corner of Main and 5th Street, and was originally home to a train depot for the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad. Constructed back in the 1870s, the building is part of the Cedar Falls Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places back in 2017. According to Wikipedia, its "made up of 59 buildings that were constructed between 1860 and 1960."

Cedar Falls News Hub reports that the depot continued to serve its purpose until the late 60s/early 70s, when the railroad ceased operations. After undergoing extensive renovations, it was then transformed into an upscale restaurant called The Depot, which opened in 1972. When the restaurant closed in 1986, the building was home to a couple of banks. The final tenant, Regents Bank, closed in 2015.

After years of sitting empty, the old train depot is now home to a brand new business called Frankie's Ice Cream Parlor! Frankie's officially opened its doors on Saturday, August 8th.

About Frankie's Ice Cream Parlor

According to the Cedar Falls News Hub, Frankie's Ice Cream Parlor is owned by Darron Olson, whose family also owns The Nook and Reader’s Cup. The business is actually named after their family dog!

Although Frankie's has "Ice Cream Parlor" in its name, the business serves much more than ice cream. In addition to "Cold Treats" like frozen yogurt, milkshakes, cones, floats, sundaes, and dole whip, the shop also offers snacks, breakfast, and lunch/dinner items. Some of the options on the food menu include waffles, avocado toast, soft pretzels, mini donuts, Scratch Cupcakes, burgers, hot dogs, paninis, pizza flights, and more.

Frankie's Ice Cream Parlor also serves as a coffee shop! They have an extensive beverage menu containing hot and iced coffee, cold brew, matcha, lotus energy refreshers, and dirty sodas.

Business Hours

As of Saturday, August 8th, Frankie's Ice Cream Parlor is now open for regular business hours. They are open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The drive-thru isn't open yet, but a Facebook post from the business says they plan to have it running later on this month. For the latest updates from the new business you can follow the official Facebook page HERE.

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Eastern Iowa's Highest-Rated Ice Cream Shops

Now that warm weather has arrived in the Midwest, we're taking a look at some of the highest-rated local ice cream shops! Aside from major chains like Dairy Queen, Cold Stone, Baskin-Robbins, and Orange Leaf, here are the Eastern Iowa ice cream shops with a 4.6-star rating or higher and a total of 95+ Google reviews:

Gallery Credit: Courtlin