Lockport Union-Sun & Journal — While getting your ice-cream fix this summer, it’s likely that local servers pile it on.

That’s the case at Carson’s Deli in the town, KM Treats downtown and Reids on the edge of the canal. Ice cream sales are up, as are temperatures.

Gwen and Dave Carson, who recently remodeled Carson’s Deli and Bakery on Old Saunders Settelment Road at the corner Routes 93 and 31, decided to offer 99-cent cones for their grand re-opening. The strategy has been successful.

“I think we’ll do it all summer,” Gwen said. “It brings in new people that we’ve never seen before, sometimes a lot of children. If their mom has a carload of kids, we’re happy to serve them 99-cent cones because they have a reason to come in that they never had before. Once inside the building, they see what else we have.”

Making money on cones is not the objective, according to Gwen.

New customers are introduced to roast beef on kimmelweck sandwiches and homemade cookies. Regulars come for lunch at the shop near the Delphi Plant. However, Carson’s is not a full-service restaurant.

“There’s a big need for moms, when they don’t want to cook, to pick up something,” Gwen said.

Carson’s has an eight-bay freezer for eight Perry’s flavors. Most are the non-chunky varieties that can be used for milk shakes. Popular cones are cookies and cream, cookie dough and peanut butter s’mores.

“As long as people come in for 99-cent cones, we’re going to keep serving them,” Gwen said. “We like to see new faces.”

• K.M. Treats on Main Street, lures folks from city hall and tourists to its big Perry’s cone on the sidewalk. K.M. offers 27 flavors and keeps up with current favorites. Banana cream pie is the most popular and lemon pound cake is a new entry.

“I love Perry’s praline turtle,” said Cedra Ferrington of Pound Street.

K.M. offers homemade pies, marshmallows, homemade chocolate and big cookies.

“They come in for a mixture of both,” said Kristin Teeter, who has operated KM with her family for 18 months. “It’s ice cream with a cake or ice cream with a cookie and a brownie.”

Kristen greets customers with a smile. Wednesday’s KM blog read, “Holy Heat wave!! I have an answer to help cope with this heat. ICE CREAM!!!! Stay cool everyone!”

• Most of the customers at Reid’s on Lake Avenue and Old Niagara line up for burgers, fries and hot dogs. Ice cream cone clients ring the bell and are served by the student who has milk shake duty for the day.

“More people are buying ice cream. I’ve been here a lot today,” said Peter Brounschedel, 19, a Lockport native who attends Alfred State. “I’m making sundaes, hot fudge and ice cream cones — a lot of ice cream cones.”

Reid’s offers Turkey Hill flavors and scoopers are guided by a diagram of the amount of ice cream they’re supposed to put on a cone. Many put on a little extra scoop.

Joshua Wheeler of Medina visited Reid’s with his wife and two children for the food. The quartet took a detour to the ice cream window where Jobi Wheeler, 3, enjoyed a cotton candy cone with his little sister, Kenedi.