On Saturday, the shop will have a soft opening at its new location on 503 Shelden Ave. It will also have an expanded slate of offerings, including novels and eventually coffee and ice cream.

While the Lakeshore Drive location had been a good place in which to grow, it presented problems for visibility, said owner Shana Porteen. Working on the new space over the past month, many people she’s encountered who didn’t know the shop existed.

“No matter how many sandwich signs and how much advertising, we just couldn’t get people down here,” she said. “So when the whole opportunity to come in this space opened up, it fell into place very quickly.”

Even with the location issues, which included leaks, Black Ice amassed a loyal customer base that necessitated a move to someplace bigger.

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Racks of comic books are seen inside Black Ice Comics’ new location on Shelden Avenue.

Porteen also sought to move beyond comic books, adding in a space for traditional novels. It’s something customers had asked about for years, Porteen said. Starting in April, she did a trial run at the old shop, which was successful.

She’s bringing in a third fixture for books, and will grow slowly from there, Porteen said. She’s thrown herself into finding the right books, checking out bestseller lists and many other lists of what people are reading. If what they’re looking for still isn’t there, people can place an order.

“The idea is that it’s still the cool comic book, but we’re also a bookstore,” she said. “It’s just an incorporation of books into what we do.”

With other used bookstores in the area, Porteen said she doesn’t plan to branch out into used books.

The new location, previously the home of the Lunch Bag, still has a kitchen. Porteen plans to start brewing coffee for customers. Further down the line, she plans to sell ice cream.

“That we’re stoked about, because there’s a counter that people can sit at, and there are plug-ins, so they’ll be able to bring their computer and work here,” she said. “They’ll be able to have some coffee, they can have ice cream. I’m going to have outdoor seating. So this is a wonderful growth moment for Black Ice.”

While growing Black Ice, Porteen wants to stay true to what customers loved about it to begin with. They’ve already put up a large piece of Avengers art that had hung in the original shop.

The new location also marks a return to public life for Porteen, who had been at home for most of the pandemic. After vaccinations, she’s also able to see people she hasn’t gotten to see for a year.

“Because I’m here now, I’m also getting to meet all-new people, who live at the Douglass House .. it’s been fabulous, because I see these people every day,” she said. “So I’m super-excited.”