Little Italy’s Italian-ice faithful have a date to circle: Mount Granita is set to reopen for its 2026 season on Friday, May 1, and it is kicking things off with its annual Dollar Scoops event, offering $1 Italian ice from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. That opening-night special arrives as the shop gears up to roll out fresh seasonal flavors and settle into its regular summer hours.
Season opener and new flavors
The shop’s website is already teasing the big night with "$1 SCOOPS - MAY 1st 2026" and a long roster of rotating flavors. This year, three new seasonal additions join the lineup: Granitamisù, Mascarpone, and Espresso. Mount Granita also lists its weekly hours, confirms the address at 2024 Murray Hill Road, and notes that pints are available to take home.
How the new flavors taste
Local coverage describes the Mascarpone flavor as a sweet-cream, soft-serve-like option made with high-quality Italian cream, while the Espresso uses an original family recipe of Italian-roast coffee with a touch of cream and sugar. WKYC also reports that Granitamisù blends chocolate, mascarpone, and espresso and can be served con panna.
From cart to storefront
Owner Christopher Giancola launched Mount Granita as a sidewalk cart in 2020, then took over and renovated a vacant Murray Hill storefront that opened in early 2023, according to Little Italy’s community site. Little Italy Cleveland notes that customers can order from the sidewalk window in summer, and that the shop makes its granita the traditional Sicilian way with fresh fruit and cane sugar.
Local reach and opening night
"Each year we like to start the summer season off right," Giancola told Cleveland Scene, describing Dollar Scoops as a thank-you to customers. The operation has also grown beyond the walk-up window, with pints of its granita now stocked at Heinen's stores in Mayfield Village and Pepper Pike, Murray Hill Market, and DiStefano's, according to News 5 Cleveland. That mix of neighborhood convenience and retail reach helps explain the lines that typically form on opening night.
Hours, address and season dates
The shop is located at 2024 Murray Hill Road, with regular hours listed as Monday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., Friday from 5 to 10:30 p.m., Saturday from 1 to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 10 p.m. Mount Granita carries the full flavor roster online, and local reporting says the business plans to operate daily from May 1 through Sept. 30 for the 2026 season, according to WKYC.
