The small blackboard above the cash register of Emack and Bolio's Ice Cream, which opened last Friday in the old home of debt-plagued Belgian Fudge, bears the picture of a tombstone and the legend: "Whatever happened to Belgian Fudge? R.I.P."

Mitch Johnson, manager of the new store, said yesterday he was determined to avoid his predecessor's fate.

"We have better internal efficiency and a better product than Belgian Fudge did," Johnson said, adding that business so far has been "well above my expectation--we're confident we'll do well."

Some Belgian Fudge fans still don't know that the store has changed hands. "A few are so angry on finding out that they walk out without trying anything," Johnson said. But those who stay, he added. like what they find.

Emack and Bolio's did not find out that they had won the Harvard Square site until last week. "We set up in record time; we got the bid in bankruptcy court on Tuesday, started moving in Wednesday, got the electricity switched on late Thursday, and opened up Friday," Johnson said.