For those wanting a little something warm in their tummy before that self-indulgent ice cream treat, there are beef and Polish hot dogs, with condiments available as appetites dictate. Chili, cheese and sauerkraut will be included on the menu in the near future.

Beverages also are available. Some of them are combinations of other items, like the mocha frappe that blends a mixture of chocolate and other flavors with -- you guessed it -- ice cream.

Opening June 24, just in time to catch Homer's latest run of sunny weather, Barling also is looking ahead to adding pastries -- brownies, muffins and scones -- to the menu. In addition to food items, she is incorporating a selection of gift ideas. Some she's bringing over from the Ocean View Gift Shop; some are specifically for Jelly Beans.

Since 1993, Barley has owned the small building that is now home to Jelly Beans. During that time, her tenants have included a rod and reel shop, a charter business, a sandwich shop and a diner. All that time, Barling kept suggesting it was the perfect spot for an ice cream shop, but no one seemed eager to give it a try. So, with the encouragement and support of family and friends, Barling is following her own suggestion.

"It's a real leap of faith," she said of the decision that involved "all my employees, my granddaughter, my son -- we were all brainstorming. It's been like a community effort."

The name, however, is Barling's idea.

"Jelly Beans is what came to me and everyone liked it," she said. "It was one of my nicknames growing up."

The interior has been designed to fit the theme -- sweet and delicious.

"Dan Coe helped us. He said fruity colors would blend with the outside sign," Barling said of a suggestion from Coe, a local artist and sign-painter. Taking the advice, Barling's son, Randy, set to work texturing and painting the inside of the ice cream shop.

Inside seating -- tables with chairs or stools at the counter -- provides a place to duck out of the sun or non-summer weather as the case may be. On Barling's list of to-do projects is a deck with outside seating so her customers can enjoy south-facing glimpses of Kachemak Bay, neighboring mountains and glaciers.

"We have such a beautiful view," she said.

Barling also is an advocate of Homer's downtown area.

"It breaks my heart when you see these RVs going down to the Spit and then leaving, so we really push downtown Homer," she said.

With Jelly Beans and the gift shop and RV park located near the intersection of Pioneer Avenue and the Sterling Highway, Barling is in the perfect spot to encourage visitors to see downtown Homer.

An Anchorage resident when she began the RV park and gift shop in Homer, Barling managed it by commuting between Anchorage and Homer on the weekends.

"I'd throw things in the car on Friday night and go back and forth," she said, adding with a laugh that her experience building a business in Homer over the past 20 years "has been something else."

After retiring in 1999, Barling moved to Homer full time and has been here ever since. Ocean View RV park includes 100 spaces. Eight are pull-through sites that will accommodate the biggest RVs made, she said. There is a handy trail to the beach. Visiting wildlife are a reminder of Homer's connection with its surroundings.

"We have eagles, moose, otters swimming out there. People have even seen whales. And we have cranes walking through," Barling said. "We're like our own little community."

Now, Barling has added Jelly Beans to that community.

Jelly Beans is open 9 a.m.-10 p.m., seven days a week.

McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibbenjackinsky.@homernews.com.