Uncle Louie G’s Serving Up An Ice Storm In Smithtown

By Phil Forte

SMITHTOWN – Are you feeling the heat of the summer sun beat down on you as you stroll through Main Street in Smithtown, or are you just looking for some cool refreshment on a hot summer day? If one or both scenarios apply to you, stop in to Uncle Louie G’s Italian Ices and Ice Cream located at 10A E. Main Street in Smithtown and try out one of their 60 variations of flavored ices and ice creams.

“My favorite flavor is the peanut butter cookie dough,” said Joe Zara, who was visiting the popular ice cream parlor with his two buddies - Danny Caroussos and Anthony Kehner, all of whom are 13 year old students at Accompsett Middle School. “I love this place. It just tastes so good.”

Uncle Louie G’s in Smithtown, which opened its doors for the first time last July, is part of a franchised business with locations all over the East Coast. Most locations are in Brooklyn and Manhattan with their warehouse located in Staten Island. After production the product is shipped directly to Uncle Louis G’s Smithtown location to serve the patrons of the Smithtown community.

“The mission here is to serve the community,” said Gio Chiarelli, owner of the gourmet Smithtown ice cream parlor. “I like to feel that the service sets us apart from most other businesses. We’re a family run business and we feel that we have a personable look on things here.”

Chiarelli, a 25-year veteran of the Smithtown Fire Department, works alongside his two sons, Nick, 19, and Christopher, 17, at Uncle Louie’s.   He insists that what sets his parlor apart from the rest is not only the quality of the ices and ice creams, but the family-like feel when you walk inside for an ice.

Moments before admitting that the parlor’s family friendly appeal is what draws crowds into the store, his son Nick served a mother who brought in two boys for their favorite bubblegum and cotton candy Italian ices.

“Did you guys just get a haircut?” Nick Chiarelli asked.

“Yes they did,” the boys’ mother answered.

“You guys are looking good,” the always-personable Nick added.

Uncle Louie G’s, which offers variations of flavors from the basic Vanilla to Lick Me Lemon to Wassup Watermelon to Rocky Road Rage, offers not only quality in-store service, but they also offer a catering service.  Their workers, typically Gio and his two sons, cater house parties and other events. That way hosts do not have to worry about finding someone to serve dessert. Instead, the Chiarelli’s take care of desert for the entire party.

The popular ice cream parlor also holds promotions to keep their customers coming back for more. Currently the parlor is holding a punch card promotion, where for every 10 medium ice creams bought, the customer receives one free. All a customer has to do is purchase an ice and hand the worker their punch card to ensure them one buy closer to a freebie. The shop also holds a wristband promotion - for $1 the customer receives a blue wristband that allows the wearer to receive .99 cent ices on Tuesdays. Seniors receive discounts on both Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Lastly, Uncle Louie G’s offers a text messaging service where all a customer has to do is text message ‘UncleLouieG’ to 41242 to receive special weekly promotions.

“Come to us for personable service and a great product,” the elder Chiarelli said. “Don’t take my words for it, come in and try it out for yourself.”

Uncle Louie G’s serving up an ice storm in Smithtown

By Phil Forte

SMITHTOWN – Are you feeling the heat of the summer sun beat down on you as you stroll through Main Street in Smithtown, or are you just looking for some cool refreshment on a hot summer day? If one or both scenarios apply to you, stop in to Uncle Louie G’s Italian Ices and Ice Cream located at 10A E. Main Street in Smithtown and try out one of their 60 variations of flavored ices and ice creams.

“My favorite flavor is the peanut butter cookie dough,” said Joe Zara, who was visiting the popular ice cream parlor with his two buddies - Danny Caroussos and Anthony Kehner, all of whom are 13 year old students at Accompsett Middle School. “I love this place. It just tastes so good.”

Uncle Louie G’s in Smithtown, which opened its doors for the first time last July, is part of a franchised business with locations all over the East Coast. Most locations are in Brooklyn and Manhattan with their warehouse located in Staten Island. After production the product is shipped directly to Uncle Louis G’s Smithtown location to serve the patrons of the Smithtown community.

“The mission here is to serve the community,” said Gio Chiarelli, owner of the gourmet Smithtown ice cream parlor. “I like to feel that the service sets us apart from most other businesses. We’re a family run business and we feel that we have a personable look on things here.”

Chiarelli, a 25-year veteran of the Smithtown Fire Department, works alongside his two sons, Nick, 19, and Christopher, 17, at Uncle Louie’s.   He insists that what sets his parlor apart from the rest is not only the quality of the ices and ice creams, but the family-like feel when you walk inside for an ice.

Moments before admitting that the parlor’s family friendly appeal is what draws crowds into the store, his son Nick served a mother who brought in two boys for their favorite bubblegum and cotton candy Italian ices.

“Did you guys just get a haircut?” Nick Chiarelli asked.

“Yes they did,” the boys’ mother answered.

“You guys are looking good,” the always-personable Nick added.

Uncle Louie G’s, which offers variations of flavors from the basic Vanilla to Lick Me Lemon to Wassup Watermelon to Rocky Road Rage, offers not only quality in-store service, but they also offer a catering service.  Their workers, typically Gio and his two sons, cater house parties and other events. That way hosts do not have to worry about finding someone to serve dessert. Instead, the Chiarelli’s take care of desert for the entire party.

The popular ice cream parlor also holds promotions to keep their customers coming back for more. Currently the parlor is holding a punch card promotion, where for every 10 medium ice creams bought, the customer receives one free. All a customer has to do is purchase an ice and hand the worker their punch card to ensure them one buy closer to a freebie. The shop also holds a wristband promotion - for $1 the customer receives a blue wristband that allows the wearer to receive .99 cent ices on Tuesdays. Seniors receive discounts on both Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Lastly, Uncle Louie G’s offers a text messaging service where all a customer has to do is text message ‘UncleLouieG’ to 41242 to receive special weekly promotions.

“Come to us for personable service and a great product,” the elder Chiarelli said. “Don’t take my words for it, come in and try it out for yourself.”

Lady Kingsmen Fall Short in Incredible Season

By Anthony Vertucci

The remarkable season of the Kings Park Lady Kingsmen came to a close on Saturday with a 1-0 loss to Pittsford Mendon in the New York State Championship finals.

The championship berth was the first in the history of Kings Park softball, who earned the right to compete in the four team tournament in Queensbury by defeating Seaford in the Long Island championship on Tuesday.

The Lady Kingsmen were victorious in the semi-finals of the tournament, beating New York’s top ranked team South Glens Falls at 9 a.m. by the score of 6-1. Paige Julich hit a grand slam in the first inning of that game to put Kings Park up for good. Syracuse-bound Lindsay Taylor pitched a two-hitter and struck out eight in the win.

The win, coupled with Pittsford Mendon’s victory over Elmira Free Academy, set the stage for 2 p.m. final. Taylor also pitched the second game and was equally as impressive as she was earlier in the day, allowing five hits and striking out 11 in six innings. The lone run she let up proved to be all the offence Pittsford would need as Brittany Grage no-hit Kings Park and struck out 12 to secure her team their new title of New York State Champions.

The only run of the game came in the third inning, as Grage proved she is a potent force at the plate as well as on the hill. With runners at first and second Grage hit an RBI single to score Erin Lyons, who narrowly avoided the tag from catcher Ariana Ambrosio.

Kings Park’s only base runner of the game came in a scary moment in the fourth when Jessica LoBianco was hit in the head by a pitch from Grage. The tough LoBianco stayed in the game and took her base. She advanced to second after a sac bunt from Nicole Brieva but was thrown out trying to stretch it to third.

Despite the loss Kings Park has plenty to be proud of, accomplishing the best season in school history. Kings Park had never won a county championship before the 2011 campaign, much less a regional championship or trip to the state finals. They had an incredible run and fell just shy of winning it all, but the triumphs and memories these athletes accrued this year will last a lifetime.

Teacher Joe Stapleton - Reminding Students How Far They've Come

By Philly Bubaris                                                                              

Joe Stapleton is a sixth-grade English and social studies teacher of 11 years at Accompsett Middle School in Smithtown. In 2005 he asked his sixth grade English class students to write letters to themselves to be received in the future. He promised to send the letters to  them in their senior year of high school.

Many of them forgot about it, like Chris Biancaniello and Kevin Harty, both 2011 graduating seniors at Smithtown High School West. They recently received their letters in the mail and were surprised at how much they have changed in six years.

“I was a weird kid,” Harty said, explaining the laughter that came with opening his letter. He wrote that he hoped by his senior year of high school he would have a cool nickname like “Moosehead.”

“It made me feel good to see I reached the goals I set for myself,” Harty said.

Biancaniello says he remembered writing the letter, but was only reminded of it when he received it. He said that he asked a lot of questions to himself in the future. “It put in perspective how much I improved in pretty much everything,” Biancaniello said.

Stapleton wanted quick gratification with this project, but he had to wait years to mail the letters. So two years after he started this project, he decided to replace it with a letter writing activity at the beginning of the year that would show students at the end of the year how much they improved since the start of sixth grade.

“After sending them out and receiving responses, it is gratifying to see the students remember,” Stapleton said. He said because of the positive reaction he received from seniors this year, he has reinitiated the project.

He still has another batch to send out for next year’s seniors, but after that, he will have another six years to wait.

 “I hope when they receive them it allows them to see the bigger picture and that there are things that are constant,” Stapleton said.

In these letters, students write down their goals and where they see themselves six years from now. They are allowed to add pictures and basically anything that can fit into a standard envelope. Stapleton said the students are excited about it and although technology has changed since six years ago, students still must hand write their letters.

Currently, he is the only teacher in the school doing this activity, but he has told two other teachers who say they will start this next year.

“I think it is fun for kids to see how they change,” said Amy Olander, also a sixth-grade teacher at Accompsett. She says she cares about her students and hope’s that through these letters she will hear back from them when they are graduating high school.

According to Biancaniello and Harty, Stapleton was always a special teacher with a sense of humor and love for teaching that is unforgettable. “I always remember he would do special things and explore the creative aspects of writing,” said Biancaniello.

“He was a unique teacher,” Harty agreed. “I remember learning a lot from him.”

At the end of his letter Harty wrote, “no matter how far you’ve gone, never forget the little man.” Thanks to Stapleton, these students will be able to reflect on their improvement in education through the years.

Napper Tandy's - Improving Property With Hopes Of Improving Main Street

By Phil Forte

SMITHTOWN – Started in March, renovations to the oft-visited hot spot Napper Tandy’s on Main Street in Smithtown are sure to draw a bigger crowd to the downtown area, hopes Brendan Bulfin, a manager of the popular bar and restaurant.

“We hope to draw a bigger crowd to Main Street,” Buflin said. “There’s a lot of stores going out of business so we need to get Smithtown back to where it should be, where it was seven or eight years ago when people were actually coming into town to enjoy themselves.”

The renovations, which Bulfin hopes boosts business for not only Napper Tandy’s but Main Street in general, are possible due to the empty space
available next door. The previous occupant, Ultimate Taekwondo Family Center, closed its doors earlier in the year to open a facility elsewhere.

The popular downtown night life destination will soon double in size,
catering to those customers who enjoy live bands, DJ’s and bigger dance floors. There will also be a full patio outside in the front of the building along Main Street, and a special catering area in the back of the restaurant, available for parties accommodating  60 to 70 people.

“We’ve stayed the same for about 10 years,” Bulfin said. “We’re trying to
move forward rather than staying still by reinventing ourselves but still keeping our own taste.”

Napper Tandy’s, most popular for its Wednesday night $13 all-you-can-eat wings and all-you-can-drink beer special, has it sites set on catering to more than just one crowd. One side of the bar will be dedicated to a more relaxed atmosphere with a lower volume of music, whereas the other side will have DJ’s spinning the hottest music hits of today to go along with the new dance floor.

The bar is sure to be a popular destination for those who enjoy live music. Napper Tandy’s has already booked a few local bands to headline their Saturday night crowd.

“We have a lot of big bands booked for Saturday nights, so we’re excited to see how things turn out. It’s going to be our big night.”

The restaurant side of the establishment will also see a minute change, but nothing too drastic, Bulfin insists.“Our food is the same. It’s the same delicious Napper Tandy’s food and night life, with a more modern twist on it,” Bulfin said.

The finishing touches on the renovations should be completed by the end of July.