Swirlyz in downtown Niles opened its doors to the public for the first time at 6 p.m. Thursday. By 6:02 p.m., the place was packed with adults and children alike looking to top a swirl of frozen yogurt with everything ranging from brownies to Fruity Pebbles cereal.

The long-awaited frozen-yogurt businesses posted earlier that morning on Facebook and left a sign outside of the storefront announcing that the shop would be opening on the evening of July 6. From there, the co-owners Tammy Gardner and Cindy Culver allowed word of mouth to spread.

“We finally got all our inspections done, so we thought, why not open?” Culver said.

Once the word had spread, customers from all over Niles visited the new business to try one of the shop’s several frozen yogurt flavors.

Lacey Peters, who came to the shop with her two sons, Maddox and Memphis, got to Swirlyz before the doors even opened.

“I was driving home from work and I saw the sign outside that they were opening at 6. We were some of the first people here,” Peters said. “I really wanted to try it out and show my support.”

Drew Mikel, who recently graduated from Niles High School, was also one of the first customers to step inside Swirlyz. Known to the owners, he wanted to come on the opening day to support the business.

“I’ve been stopping by periodically for the last month to help out and see how they are doing,” Mikel said. “I’m just so excited to have this in Niles. [A frozen-yogurt shop] is something that has been missing from the area.”

Mikel and Peters were just a couple in a line of customers who packed the store, with each saying they enjoyed the selection of frozen-yogurt flavors and the unique toppings.

Mikel recommend the apple pie frozen yogurt, while Peters’ children enjoyed the strawberry flavor.

Not all the first day customers came just for the ice cream.

Linda Monroe, of Niles, spent time at the Front Street location as a child in the 1970s, when her mother worked at the tax service office that occupied the space. Monroe wanted to see what the space looked like now that it is a frozen yogurt shop.

“I knew the store was opening since I saw the windows blacked out, and thought that this place was going to be interesting. I’ve been following them on Facebook, which is how I knew it was opening,” she said. “It’s totally changed.It’s like a whole different era.”

No matter why they came, Gardner and Culver were pleasantly surprised by the crowd, and think that such a strong opening response speaks well for the future success of their business.

“The community has been great. There’s been a lot of support. It’s just really great to have so many people here,” Gardner said. “We’re excited to share this with everyone.”