GREECE, N.Y. — As temperatures rise, so does the demand for frozen treats, and one family in Greece has been serving them for generations.

“Hot day, best place to be, right here having ice cream,” said Frank's Italian customer Carmen Mirabella said.

It’s what keeps customers coming back generation, after generation, after generation.

“I wish my grandfather was here to see it, because it makes me tear at the eye,” said Frank's owner Al Lucchese.

Lucchese was named for his grandfather, who started it all in 1936. He came from Italy to Chicago, before relocating to Rochester with his family during the Depression.

“My mother’s mother put them up to live with them until they got situated, but as luck would have it, the people that my grandmother lived next door to was a person who sold lemon ice," said original owner and Al's father, Frank Lucchese. "He says, 'you want to make it and I’ll go out and peddle it.'”

Frank opened the store originally in the 90s.

“Listen, if I ever have to die, I want to drop dead right where I‘m working. Down to the last minute," Frank said. "That’s my blood.”

Al then moved the business from Gates to Greece last year.

“I decided to continue the tradition, because it’s something I didn’t want to die," Al said. "I would’ve regretted it for the rest of my life.”

And he does it with his son Anthony, who’s helping keep business in the family for 82 years now.

“It’s nice hanging out with my family. Even though we’re at work, it’s not a 9-5 job," Anthony said. "You get to hang out with people, sit and talk with customers. You look at the clock, and four hours went by.”

But it’s not just the “from-scratch” recipes that have been crafted over all these decades the customers love, it’s the family affair, which their customer’s feel a part of.

“It’s the best stuff around, that’s all I have to say," Mirabella said. "And everyone else will say the same thing, I’m sure.” 

“There’s nothing like it. Seriously," said customer and family friend Bob Antinarelli. "If anyone wants to be a part of a family, and feel like a family, they’ve got to come visit here.”

Exactly the atmosphere the Lucchases want to serve up, alongside their frozen desserts.

“We treat everyone like family, and really, in our hearts, its how we feel.” Al said.