SOUTH PORTLAND — A South Portland landmark is set to reopen Friday, nearly 10 months after it was destroyed by fire.

The family that owns Red’s Dairy Freeze confirmed tonight that it will begin serving ice cream at noon Friday.

Former employees from as far back as the 1960s have been invited back to serve ice cream on opening weekend.

“The cinderblock walls are up, cups and cones are in their places, the jimmies are ready and the giant (original) cone, once again, graces the top of the building,” Chris Bolling and his wife, Alison, the shop’s current owners, state in a news release.

The popular ice cream shop on Cottage Road, which is near the South Portland Public Library, has been closed since it suffered heavy fire damage on May 16. On the day after the fire, employees painted a sign on the business stating “We’ll Be Back.”

Leonard “Red” Bolling and his wife, Hazel, opened the Tastee Freeze in 1952. Tastee Freeze was renamed Red’s Dairy Freeze in 1965.

Since then it has built a loyal following of customers, many of whom gathered on Aug. 16 to watch it be demolished. Red’s Dairy Freeze Facebook page currently has more than 2,600 followers.

Laura Bolling, whose parents own the ice cream stand, said despite this week’s cold temperatures the family expects business to be brisk.

“People have been knocking on our door for weeks now, wanting to know when we will reopen,” Bolling said.

If you plan on going, you may want to wait a while. Bolling said Red’s plans to give priority to serving the South Portland and Cape Elizabeth firefighters who battled last year’s fire.

Red’s will be open today and this weekend from 12 noon until 9 p.m.

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