Italian Ice Shop In Wayne Blends Handwritten Traditions With New Offerings

WAYNE, PA — Entering its 25th-anniversary year, Capri Homemade Italian Ice is evolving while respecting traditions.

Capri just finished its yearly hiatus, reopening Saturday and bringing the community another sign of spring's arrival.

It's been 20 years since founder Matt Mangigian sold Capri to the Davis family, who sold it to the current ownership group in 2024. But they still use a binder that Mangigian used when he founded the shop in 2001, which contains Capri's handwritten recipes that have been passed down.

"A lot of the recipes we have are just written down on a piece of paper," said Corey Lang, one of Capri's owners. "It's very 'mom and pop.' But it's written down, and we have a laminated notebook to make sure it stays safe, so if any water spilled on it, it wouldn't ruin the recipe."

Lang co-owns the shop with Tim and Kyle Hennessey and Mark Sophocles. They've maintained the old recipes, which they're working to digitize.

Newer flavors rotate in and out, such as peach mango, and lemon zest water ice made with Amalfi lemons.

Capri is once again serving water ice, Gelati and soft serve. But this year, they've added ice cream that's hand-dipped — scooped instead of coming from a soft-serve machine. The hand-dipped ice cream is set to become available this week.

They're also implementing credit-card machines after 25 years of cash-only business.

Rotating flavors will be updated regularly on Capri's Facebook and Instagram pages. They tend to come and go based on customer feedback, says Tim Hennessey, the store manager.

"The customers are your best critic," Hennessey said. "And the kids will tell you right away to your face, 'I don't like that,' and we have no problem with that."

Capri Homemade Italian Ice is located at 238 E Lancaster Ave., Wayne. It is open weekdays from 3-9 p.m. and weekends from 1-9 p.m.