Cold Stone Creamery hopes to dip into the ice cream market in Lawrence.

The nation’s fastest-growing ice cream franchise will open by early March at 647 Mass. in a storefront next to Starbuck’s Coffee.

The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company is opening more than 450 stores in 2004 and found what it was looking for in downtown Lawrence.

“We target high-traffic areas with active nightlife,” said Jami Thompson, a spokeswoman for the company.

Marvin Self, a Manhattan businessman, owns the Lawrence franchise. He opened a Cold Stone Creamery in July in the Aggieville area of Manhattan. Self, a 1974 Kansas University business graduate, said downtown Lawrence was perfect for an ice cream store.

“Mass. Street is a great location because it is upscale and does a good job of attracting both families and the college students,” Self said. “We didn’t know if we would do this if we couldn’t find a location on Mass.”

The store will be the latest in a number of frozen dessert stores that have located in Lawrence. In the past two years at least three stores that sell frozen custard, which is similar to ice cream, have opened in the city. Some ice cream shop operators are wondering whether the city’s cone is about to crack.

“I would say that Lawrence already is a pretty saturated market,” said Natalie Riggs, a longtime cake decorator at Baskin Robbins, 1524 W. 23rd St. “In the past few years, I would say there has been a real boom in ice cream chains and stores.”

Paul Statler, a manager at Sheridan’s Frozen Custard, 2030 W. 23rd St., said he didn’t think there was room in the market for another store. But he said he understood why the market was attractive to the chains.

Chocolate Devotion, a chocolate ice cream cone with chocolate chips, a brownie and fudge, is one of more than 30 specialty ice cream cones served at Cold Stone Creamery. The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company announced Wednesday that it would open a store by March in downtown Lawrence.

“I think they’re realizing Lawrence’s growing potential,” Statler said. “The 31st and Iowa area is growing like crazy and Sixth and Wakarusa is changing every day.”

Deanna Ogg, an assistant manager at Sylas & Maddy’s Homemade Ice Cream, 1014 Mass., said she thought there were enough differences between most of the stores to keep the market healthy.

“We’re not too worried about it,” Ogg said. “Our store in Olathe is across from a Baskin Robbins and we do great there.”

Self said he also wasn’t worried about the market becoming too crowded. He said the store would be different because it would be one of the few that mixes custom flavors. Customers purchase a plain ice cream, yogurt or sorbet and then purchase toppings to be mixed into the ice cream. The mixing is done on a cold granite stone.

The chain also tries to add an element of entertainment to the ice cream experience. Employees of the store sing songs — such as “If You’re Happy and You Know It, Take a Bite,” — after each tip they receive. The company in 2001 also joined forces with the “Survivor” television program and offered chocolate-covered crickets to mix into the ice cream.

Thompson said the crickets sold out across the country in less than a week.

“I heard they were kind of crunchy but had a lot of chocolate on them, too,” Thompson said. “There is definitely an element of entertainment and theater in what we do. Ice cream is supposed to be fun.”