It didn't take long for ice cream lovers to find their way around chain-link barriers near the store. Perhaps they were following their noses. The enticing aroma of fresh-baked waffle cones fills the air inside the store and seeps outside with each opening of the door.

"We want to give our customers an experience," says Saratoga resident Naresh Batra, who, with wife Gloria, owns the Marble Slab Creamery franchise under the name Lifestyle Ventures. It is the first of perhaps a half-dozen more they are planning for the Bay Area.

The experience Batra wants to share with his customers is a sensuous one. "By the time they get their order, their mouths will be watering—all the juices will be flowing," he says. "Anticipation is so much a part of it."

For the uninitiated, a large sign explains "the Marble Slab way" of enjoying the experience Batra describes. First, the customer chooses from a list of 20 tempting flavors, including some seasonal specials like eggnog. Sampling is encouraged, and the server scoops out up to seven ounces of the selection. Second, a "mix-in" can be chosen from among categories like nuts, fruits, cookies, candies and chocolates. Customers can watch as their ice cream is placed on one of two refrigerated "marble" slabs (actually, they're granite) and is mounded into a round mass by the server, who is armed with a scooper and a paddle.

The mix is then poured into a hollowed-out spot in the center, and the ice cream is folded over and over until the mix is blended. The third step is the selection of a waffle cone. Some are half-dipped in dark or white chocolate, colorful sprinkles or melted Heath bars or Butterfingers. The cones are made fresh daily on four waffle machines timed to produce one every minute. The result is a crunchy cone topped by a heap of ice cream ($3.48).

A variety of other creamery choices abound: cookies (79 cents), fudge brownies (99 cents), ice cream pies ($10.95) and cakes ($16.95­$22.95), smoothies, shakes and malts ($3.89), pie a la mode, shortcake, banana splits, sundaes and soft-serve yogurt. And it's all "homemade" on the premises.

Batra bought his franchise from Marble Slab Creamery Inc., which is based in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1983, the company now has 263 stores—either open, under construction or planned—mostly in the Midwest and southern United States. Batra's store is the first to open in the Bay Area. "The food industry is one area where you meet the basic needs of human beings," he explains. "I call them food, health and shelter."

Batra, a native of India, came to the United States in 1970 to study electrical engineering at Marquette University in Wisconsin. It was there that he met Gloria, a native of Belize, who was a student in medical technology.

"I'm investing in the future," he says, smiling and gesturing to his 6-month-old granddaughter, Cameron, who "helps" her mother, Michelle Martinez, make cookies in the back kitchen. Michelle, a 1998 graduate of Saratoga High School, assists her husband, Mario, who is the store manager.

Marble Slab Creamery is located at 5205 Prospect Ave. in San Jose. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.­10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.­11 p.m.; and Sunday, noon­10 p.m. For more information, call 408.252.SLAB (7522).