ELIZABETH JOHNSON
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: November 26, 2003)

Teens and 'tweens aren't hanging out at the video arcade or the pizza place or even the mall — not when they're in Pleasantville. There, they're hanging out at a malt shop. Yes, a malt shop — just like in the 1950s complete with atomic-age décor. The retro soda fountain at the end of the counter (still waiting for its swivel stools) is even a bit famous. It was used in a scene in "The Godfather."

It was the idea of Fanda Nikic, a Pleasantville mother, to open Fanda's Pop Shop, and sell root beer floats, malteds, egg creams and ice cream sundaes to children like her own, who just didn't seem to have a place to gather after school.

"They started to ask to walk into town," she says. "But I didn't feel like there was any place geared for kids to have a fun time."

Since she opened the doors to the sleek eatery 10 days ago, it's been crowded. From 3 to 5 p.m. most school days, kids stop by with their friends and order milkshakes or a scoop of the Double Rainbow ice cream in one of 24 flavors like pumpkin and white pistachio. Nikic was surprised to find the young customers enjoying music they had never heard before — music from the 1950s.

Fanda's Pop Shop also sells retro candy — brands like Mary Jane's and Flying Saucers. And, as word spreads about the shop, Nikic hopes to attract the crowds from the Jacob Burns Film Center around the corner.

"It's a bit of old fashioned fun," she says. "Come hang out with your friends, have a milkshake, listen to music."