East Lyme — A for-sale sign on the Frosty Treat property in Niantic may have caused some speculation over the fate of the long-running summertime restaurant, but it soon will open for another season of serving ice cream and hot dogs.

Business owner Bill Zeilman, who runs Frosty Treat with his wife, Carol, said he is getting ready to open the nearly 50-year-old establishment on the corner of Main Street and Columbus Avenue for his 14th season, with the goal of opening Saturday, March 11.

Zeilman said he has a one-year lease and Frosty Treat will be open through the season, typically until around mid-September.

But, with the property where the business is located up for sale, it currently is uncertain what would happen after this year.

Property owners Carol and Joe Mariani, who themselves opened Frosty Treat nearly 50 years ago and ran it for a total of 15 years over two different periods, have put the Frosty Treat property and an adjacent property at 4 Columbus Ave. up for sale.

Carol Mariani said she and her husband retired several years ago and are going to be 80 years old. With both of their children doing well and married with their own children, she said she and her husband felt it was time to sell the property and pursue activities such as traveling more.

Two parcels, the Frosty Treat property on 440 Main St. and the Columbus Avenue property, are for sale together for $499,999, according to the property listing. The Columbus Avenue property has a one-bedroom apartment and an office space.

If sold, future plans for the Frosty Treat property, which is in a commercial zone, would be up to the new property owner, but Mariani said it would be nice for Frosty Treat to remain on the property.

"I think it's nice that it stays the Frosty Treat," she said. "Why change something that's really working?"

The restaurant, with an outdoor picnic area, sells soft-serve ice cream and 24 flavors of hard-pack ice cream, foot-long hot dogs, hamburgers, clams and French fries, among other food items.

Zeilman said the best part of running the business is the people.

"Both the employees and the customers have made it the most worthwhile," he said.

The seasonal establishment typically opens in March, when even a day in the mid to upper 50s can get people excited about spring and flocking to the restaurant.

"People are excited to get springtime going, and this is the sign of spring for them," he said.

k.drelich@theday.com