ANDERSONVILLE — Andersonville is getting another ice cream parlor. This one will be opening in a familiar setting.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream appears to be taking over the space at 5306 N. Clark St. that previously housed George’s Ice Cream & Sweets, a locally owned dessert shop that closed earlier this year.
City records show Jeni’s is working to renovate the former George’s while retaining its use as an ice cream shop. Permits were issued in early August for interior work, including new kitchen flooring, lighting, countertops and plumbing systems, among other work, records show.
A “change of owner” permit was also granted in August, clarifying Jeni’s as the tenant in the building that is seeking to perform the upgrades, according to city records.
A permit to install LED signs on the building has not yet been granted.
Jeni’s did not respond to a request for comment. A representative for the Stotis family, which owned George’s and owns the building, did not respond to a request for comment.
George’s closed in March after 13 years on Clark Street. It opened in 2009 by the children of George Stotis, who owned and operated Chicago’s Recycle Shop on Clark Street in Andersonville for more than 30 years.
The ice cream shop was opened in honor of their father, who died in 2007 but wanted a dessert cafe on Clark Street. The Stotis children closed the shop so they can retire, they previously said.
Jeni’s appears primed to step in and fill the void left by George’s closure.
Jeni’s first Chicago location opened in September 2013 at 3404 N. Southport Ave. in Lakeview. It has eight Chicago shops, including two in Lakeview and outposts in West Loop, Wicker Park and Logan Square. It has two suburban locations.
Jeni’s was founded by award-winning ice cream maker Jeni Britton Bauer, who opened her first shop in Columbus, Ohio, in 2002.
Kilwin’s, the ice cream and chocolates franchise owned by a South Side business woman, is also working to open in Andersonville.
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