Chevy films commercial at King Kone

SOMERS, N.Y. - King Kone has made it to the small screen!

The nostalgic and wildly popular ice cream stand on Route 100 in Somers was the setting recently for a TV commercial touting the Chevy Equinox EV.

Owners Brian and Deb Hopkins of Katonah were “ecstatic” about being chosen for the spot but being newbies to the national spotlight were a tad nervous about the logistics.

King Kone opens each day around noon and goes nonstop until the evening hours.

Its extensive menu has ravenous foodies lining up for everything from its soft serve and “hard” ice creams, sorbets, frozen yogurts, and Italian ices to hot dogs, burgers, lobster rolls, and exotic (for a roadside eatery) starters such as tempura shrimp and fried zucchini.

But any fears the entrepreneurs might have had were quickly put to rest.

The film folks arrived around 5 a.m. and the whole thing was done and dusted by 11 a.m., according to Deb who called it a “painless experience.”

King Kone opened up around 1953.  By the time Deb and Brian acquired it in 2001, it was showing its age. (They think they may be its fourth owners, but they aren’t sure.)

They gutted the interior, put on a new roof, added more soft-serve machines, created a picnic table area, and expanded the menu.

(King Kone’s buttery lobster rolls are faithful to ones Brian became hooked on while vacationing in Maine as a child.)

The pair used to own a catering company in Armonk, so they know their eats.

The location scout spotted King Kone and loved it for its small-town feel and its whimsical signs (Think giant smiley cone.) which, Brian says, they just re-painted last year.

“It was crazy,” said Brian, estimating that there were about 20 trucks and 120 people on site.

The crew even brought its own catering truck and port-o-john.

(Brian, who does yeoman’s work slaving over the grill day in and day out, took a wee cooking break and had an egg sandwich.)

“We had to wake up early, but what the heck,” he added.

Besides, it was fun to chill with cast and crew members who -- after the cameras stopped rolling -- finally got to actually eat some ice cream.

“They did all these takes and the poor actor only got to take one lick of the cone before it was thrown away,” Deb said.

Brian wasn’t exactly sure when the commercial was set to air but thought that could be in late August or early September.

Stay tuned.