The Rich & Creamy ice cream stand in Joliet, Ill., which faced an iffy future months ago because of back rent, a leaky roof and warnings about hazards to pedestrians, seems to have a brighter days ahead.
The city is applying for a $25,000 grant to fix the roof, reported The Herald-News in Joliet. And owner Bill Gulas said the $18,000 in back rent is paid.
As for addressing the possible hazards to customers from nearby Illinois 53:
Joliet also is looking into the possibility of renovating the building so the service windows face the parking lot instead of the highway.
That would not be a simple remodeling, said Rich Lodewegen, the other owner of the business.
“You’d have to change all the plumbing,” he said. “You can’t have all the windows on one side of the building and all the ice cream equipment on the other side.”
That’s fairly far into the future. But, for how, Gulas says the stand will reopen after its customary winter break, in February.
The City of Joliet bought the aging building about 2001 as part of the Broadway Greenway project. The Rich & Creamy stand includes Route 66 signs around it and figures of the Blues Brothers on top of it, making it an attention-getting sight for travelers.
(Image of the Rich & Creamy stand by gobucks2 via Flickr)