Free ice cream on offer at popular Pokemon parlours in Northampton

A Northampton ice cream parlour and Pokemon hotspot has been so inundated with players of a new app, it is offering free scoops to its customers.
Aldo Gallone at his ice cream parlour in Welford Road, Kingsthorpe. The owner is offering Pokemon Go players free ice cream scoops for catching one of the virtual characters in store.Aldo Gallone at his ice cream parlour in Welford Road, Kingsthorpe. The owner is offering Pokemon Go players free ice cream scoops for catching one of the virtual characters in store.
Aldo Gallone at his ice cream parlour in Welford Road, Kingsthorpe. The owner is offering Pokemon Go players free ice cream scoops for catching one of the virtual characters in store.

Both Gallone’s’ Kingsthorpe and Abington Street outlets have enjoyed a sudden bump in trade after the two parlours were listed as “PokeStops” in the smash hit augmented reality Nintendo game Pokemon Go.

The smartphone app encourages players to physically walk around their local area, catching virtual creatures using the device’s camera and GPS.

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Gallones owner Aldo Gallone, is now offering anyone who gets a snap of themselves with a Pokemon in either of the parlours, a free extra scoop on their ice cream sundaes.

He said: “So from what I understand the two outlets are ‘pokestops’.

“We have noticed so many kids standing outside with their smartphones this week. I think they need to point their phones at the ice cream cone on the front of the shop to ‘activate’ the Pokestop.

“Then we are seeing people running inside trying to capture the Pokemon.

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“We just thought why not get involved, it’s great fun for the kids.”

Pokestops are located at select places around the world such as historical markers, monuments, and art installations.

In Northamptonshire stops include Northampton Crown Court and Wicksteed Park among hundreds of others.

Mr Gallone said, while the game has attracted some criticism for placing some Pokemon hotspots in undesirable locations, an ice cream parlour was a safe call by the game developers.

“That’s the good thing about our location - we are child friendly at the end of the day - they picked well,” he said.