The closing of a drive-through banking facility four years ago sparked a dream of using the building for a food-related venture which finally opened July 9 as Spring Street Treats.

Allan Ansorg spoke with the property owner soon after the bank moved out and has spent the past four years bringing his dream into focus.

“He said he wanted to make it a bagel shop,” said Ansorg’s 11-year-old daughter, Ava.

That evolved over time into a soft-serve ice cream drive-through, which Allan Ansorg saw as a greater need in the Oxford community.

“It was a perfect fit for the building,” he said. “So far, response has been good.”

And that response has been without the drive-through window, since he has one on order and it still had not arrived by the Labor Day weekend. There are some parking spaces on the property, some seating inside, and outside a teeter-totter for the kids and an open area which allows families and friends to relax and enjoy their purchases. Spring Street Treats also has a set of bleachers on that open area and have corn hole boards for customers to use.

The menu offers a range of cones, shakes and malts, as well as some food items — Angus hot dogs, chicken salad, pulled pork, giant soft pretzels, cookies, nachos and a number of side dishes.

The ice cream is the main item, however, and Ava is an enthusiastic promoter of the fare.

“It’s yummy,” she said. “It’s healthy too. It’s cholesterol-free, gluten-free and lactose-free.”

That’s the main offering of vanilla and chocolate, anyway, which are low-fat. They offer two fruit-flavored ice cream treats, as well, currently raspberry and pineapple, which are fat-free.

Allan Ansorg said he and Ava attended a food show in Cleveland in March and discovered the ice cream brands they now serve.

“It was the best-tasting one and healthy, too,” he said. “We were lucky the best tasting one was gluten-free, lactose-free, cholesterol-free and low-fat.”

They plan to attend another show next February which is specifically for ice cream and try other brands, but will switch only if convinced they have found a better one.

The business logo — an ice cream cone holding a hot dog and a pretzel with a happy smile on its face — was designed by Ava, with input by family members. Her grandfather suggested the mouth and Allan said he wanted the eyes looking upward toward its ice cream “hair” instead of straight forward.

“Ava’s a wonderful artist,” her father said. Ava added, “We went through a lot of paper.”

The result is a logo which goes along with what she likes best about the new family business. “It’s fun. I like making little kids happy.”

The store has a small shelf of novelty items, including pillows made to look like ice cream sandwiches, which Ava said she wants for her birthday.

Father and daughter both agree that the main goal of Spring Street Treats is to have fun and share it with customers. They have a birthday special offering, which i s whatever the celebrant wants, with children invited to come around the counter and apply their own sprinkles and toppings. They offer a “Doggie Day” on the third Saturday of each month with pets getting “puppy cup” of vanilla ice cream topped with a dog biscuit.

Another of their fun offerings is a train special, with everyone in line when a train is crossing Spring Street getting a free topping.

“We’ve had people who know about it running in when a train goes by,” Allan said.

Area golfers may be familiar with Ansorg, who worked at the Hueston Woods Golf Course for 16 years but gave it up to open Spring Street Treats. He took a three-month leave of absence from that job to get the business started, went back to work there and resigned after he realized he wanted to give his full attention to the new business.

“I wanted to go all-in,” he said. “It needed all my time and attention and I had to decide if I was going to run the business or have someone else manage it.”

In addition to Allan and Ava, Allen’s wife, Amy, also is part of the business. She also works in the Human Resources Department at Miami University. They have seven employees.

Spring Street Treats is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and will close in mid-December until March 1. Ansorg said he already has had people tell him he should stay open through winter and said he may do that next year, as well as possibly adjusting his hours. For now, he is open for lunch-time business but finds the best hours to be between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Spring Street Treats also can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

“When I got into it, I did not know the business cycle, so we might change things later,” he said. “The city has targeted this area for development. I’m glad we can be a part of it.”