With the successful relaunch last year of a store in Lexington's Chevy Chase neighborhood, ice cream retailer Graeter's plans to open a store in Hamburg.

A store is expected to open by mid- to late May on Justice Drive near Malone's, said franchisee Jim Tedesco, who operates several Graeter's stores in Louisville and southern Indiana.

It's the latest in a series of moves to rebuild the Cincinnati-based ice cream chain's presence in Lexington after eight stores in Central and Northern Kentucky closed in December 2010 because of problems with the previous franchisee.

"I love the Hamburg area," Tedesco said. The previous Graeter's in the Brighton Place Shoppes near Hamburg performed well, he said. "We wanted to get back to this area."

Tedesco said the new store in Hamburg lacks strong visibility, but it will benefit from the many hotels nearby and the large neighborhood that begins on that edge of the shopping area.

The shop will be similar in size to the store at Chevy Chase, which has been "real successful," he said.

Tedesco said he is looking for a spot in Palomar along Harrodsburg Road, based on customer comments.

"If we find something in that area," he said, "we're definitely going to go back there, too."

Scott Sloan: (859) 231-1447. Twitter: @HeraldLeaderBiz.