N.J. couple run ice-cream shop through solar power

Gary and Patricia Marino of Franklin Township have seemingly developed a "dive-in" approach to business - perhaps fitting for a couple who also go by Mr. and Mrs. Penguin.

With no relevant experience, the Marinos decided on a whim in the spring of 1995 to buy a struggling roadside ice cream stand on Route 40 in their rural hometown. They renamed it the Purple Penguin and added a full menu, including cheesesteaks and hot dogs.

People "thought we were nuts," Patricia Marino, 61, said this week inside the Gloucester County shop. "Here we are."

Four years ago, they put the figurative cherry on top of their spontaneous decision when they made the stand self-sufficient - electrically, that is. They installed a 132-panel, 32-kilowatt solar system that powers the business during its 200-day season, which begins each year in late March.

Gary Marino, 64, said it was a move that will benefit the business in the long run and that is also sustainable for the environment. (He describes himself as a "recycling fanatic.")

The Marinos figure they have one of the few energy-independent ice cream shops in the area - if not the only one - something they are proud of as they celebrate two decades of business this season.

Their daughter, Mary Ann, 37, acknowledges she had a "little doubt" when her father proposed installing the solar panels to power the soft-serve machines, the refrigerators, and the rest of the shop. But now, she said, it now looks like the solar arrays that sit behind the shop's playground were a worthwhile move.

Gary Marino said he has paid off most of the approximately $135,000 loan he took for the solar system. (He also received government grants offered at the time.) His electric bills during his busiest months, which sometimes reached $1,500, are now about $45 for a service charge.

"In business, you have to be a risk-taker," said Marino, who works an overnight shift as a forklift operator for FedEx in Delaware before heading to the ice cream stand.

When they bought the shop, Gary Marino was a longtime postmaster, last in Pedricktown, and his wife was working at a local florist. Their two children were entering adulthood and, as Patricia put it, the couple thought "it was time for a change."

Patricia Marino said she considered going back to school and was always interested in entering the culinary arena. When she heard through word of mouth that the ice cream stand was for sale, the opportunity appeared sweet.

"It's a terrific job, it really is," she said Monday morning as she and her husband split the work dismantling and cleaning a Taylor soft-serve machine. "Everyone who comes for ice cream, they're happy. They're not miserable."

Grandparents to two, the Marinos run a small but smooth operation, largely by themselves. Mary Ann Marino, who works for a nutrition office at Inspira Medical Center Vineland, picks up shifts, helping at the grill and working the window.

Charlene Bosco of Williamstown said she had driven by the stand many times on her way to visit a friend in Buena, N.J., before finally veering off to try it for the first time in April. She enjoyed the hot dog she ordered, but was particularly fond of Gary Marino's service.

"It seemed like he knew the people, the customers," said Bosco, 52, a clinical system administrator for Virtua Health. "I'm always very cognizant of customer service. It's rare to find really personable people."

She added: "It will be a place I stop every time I go visit her."

The shop once held car shows monthly, and later transitioned to hosting community family nights - evenings of pony rides and face painting - during the summer. It invites area fire departments to do meet-and-greets. (This Saturday, members of a new fire department being assembled in Newfield will be present.)

"Gary, Mr. Penguin as they call him ... he's always been good to Newfield," said Newfield Mayor Donald Sullivan. (Though the stand's mailing address is in Newfield, it is technically in Franklin.) "If you want ice cream, that's where you go."