LINCOLN PARK — Local frozen desserts spot Pretty Cool Ice Cream is expanding by opening a store in Lincoln Park.
The new shop is at 709 W. Belden Ave. and will open as soon as its permits are approved by the city, said Dana Salls Cree, who founded Pretty Cool Ice Cream in 2018. The store opening was first reported by Eater.
“We’re ready and excited to open,” Salls Cree said. “All the ice cream is made, the staff is hired and trained and they all have their uniforms. We’re ready to show up.”
Pretty Cool focuses on serving ice cream in non-traditional ways, such as on a stick, Salls Cree said. Customers will find ice cream bars, fruit buttermilk bars, plant-milk-based bars and popsicles.
Ice cream sandwiches are also being rolled out at the Logan Square store.
The new shop is modeled after the business’s first location in Logan Square, except the exterior is painted peach instead of pink.
The shop features stadium-style seating and lighting — but the store will only be doing walk-up window service for the foreseeable future, Salls Cree said.
“So many of our guests are kids, and the place is so small and built to be a magnet for kids to touch, feel, explore and climb,” Salls Cree said. “So we’re not going to open our dining room until kids can get vaccinated.”
Salls Cree said she was “thrilled” for her business to open in Lincoln Park.
“It’s such a beautiful neighborhood, and we’re on this charming tree-lined street,” Salls Cree said.
Salls Cree said she chose the location because it’s in a part of Lincoln Park where communities converge.
“It’s where DePaul meets all the family homes and meets the part of the neighborhood where people rent studios and one-bedroom apartments,” Salls Cree said. “It’s a mix of demographics, which we really like.”
Salls Cree said she’s most looking forward to the memories that will be made in the shop.
“We want to be with the community when they’re making some of their simplest memories, like celebrating after a game,” Salls Cree said. “And with DePaul right there, we’ll have college kids making so many indelible memories for their life, whether it’s getting ice cream for a party or celebrating good grades or going on first dates.”
“We want this to be a place you remember going to back when you were a kid,” she said.
Jake Wittich is a Report for America corps member covering Lakeview, Lincoln Park and LGBTQ communities across the city for Block Club Chicago.
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