Before opening an ice cream stand behind his School Daze store on Arsenal Street, Benjamin J. Primicias III wanted to do his homework.

Last summer, he took his wife and two children and drove to places such as New Jersey and Florida, stopping at ice cream stands along the way.

The homework, Mr. Primicias said, was delicious.

On Mother's Day, he opened Ben & Jilly's Cool Craze, a seasonal ice cream stand built on the back of his 902 Arsenal St. building. His wife, Susan K., co-owns both ventures.

The stand will have an official grand opening over Memorial Day weekend with discounted ice cream and other products offered from Friday to Monday.

Mr. Primicias named the 400-square-foot business after his children, 11-year-old Jillian E. and 15-year-old Benjamin J. IV, who helped in the venture's planning process.

"We would sample at ice cream stands and the kids would say this is what they like, this is what they dislike," Mr. Primicias said.

Jillian, a chocolate lover, suggested fudge toppings and a red and white awning while Benjamin offered tips on the strategic placement of signs around the interior of the stand. Both recommended that Cool Craze focus on custard-based ice cream as it creates a thick, creamy twist of soft serve.

"We don't inject a lot of air into it," Mr. Primicias said. "It comes out good and thick so customers get a high-quality serving."

The family ultimately settled on 24 flavors of soft serve ice cream from Upstate Farms of Buffalo and 32 flavors of hard ice cream from Perry's Ice Cream Co. Inc. of Akron.

Mr. Primicias said customers have been surprised by the variety of soft serve flavors, created by mixing vanilla with syrups such as cheesecake, pina colada or tutti frutti.

"You can go to any ice cream stand and find vanilla, chocolate or twist," he said. "But we have 24 flavors."

The seasonal ice cream stand, which will be open until October, is designed to complement the year-round School Daze business, Mr. Primicias said.

"I think it's a great mix," he said. "We get a lot of teachers who come in and say, 'Oh, I deserve a break.' The bright hot pink sign draws them in."

Mr. Primicias started School Daze with his wife in 1991 and moved to its current location in 1996. He first began playing with the idea of an ice cream stand two years ago, when wondering how to promote themetal carports and garages he also sells.

"When I needed a second building to show, I said, 'Let's put a commercial business in there,'" Mr. Primicias said.

He spent just under $100,000 to outfit the stand with stainless steel appliances such as an astro-blender, for mixing soft serve, and an electro-freeze, for the Cool Craze slush drinks.

Such an investment has already begun to pay off, said Angela N. Aguilar, who works in both School Daze and Cool Craze.

"We were thinking it was going to be a really bitty ice cream stand," she said. "It turned out pretty nice. I walked in here and was like, 'Whoa, you went all out.'"

Mrs. Aguilar said the Arsenal Street stand had proved particularly popular on the weekends.

"Especially after church," she said. "On Sunday morning we're pretty busy."