WILMINGTON, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – There’s no debate — anymore.

“I love this color,” laughed Kristen Bechtel.

“It really is a pop of color that I think is good for an ice cream shop,” said Wes Bechtel, Kristen’s husband.

The little pink ice cream shop near downtown Wilmington is officially the perfect color.

“It was in need of a glow-up, so to speak,” said Kristen.

Their shop is called ‘Boombalattis.’

“Most people can pronounce it; nobody can spell it,” joked Wes.

The two have owned ‘Boombalattis’ since 2015.

It was a well-known Wilmington name at the time, but the ice cream needed some work, and since, they’ve revamped the recipes along with redoing their pink ice cream shop just outside of downtown.

“In the last five to ten years, people have understood we have really cool architecture and interesting buildings,” said Wes.

In Wilmington, there’s a trend towards re-using and revitalizing. Many buildings downtown have been restored in the past few years.

Instead of tearing them down, they’re finding new life.

“They would see this empty husk of a station that was just sitting there, not a great look for us,” remembered Joe Apkarian.

Joe owns ‘The Eagles Dare.’

It’s a bar and beer garden, an old gas station just outside downtown. It’s been completely redone and is now open for the season.

“Lot of sleepless nights, then I come in here and see what the team what we’ve all done to make this space,” said Joe. “Yeah, I’m extremely proud.”

There’s definitely a sense of pride in Wilmington — in what they do and where they are.

“We knew it would kind of be a slow change of the neighborhood,” said Kristen. “But we kind of wanted to invest in that.”

It’s a blend of the new and the old with room for all.