Mitchell’s Ice Cream and Candies may not be reopening this summer, David Milazzo of Bravo Foods confirmed Wednesday, but the door isn’t yet closed.
Mitchell’s Ice Cream and Candies may not be reopening this summer, David Milazzo of Bravo Foods confirmed Wednesday, but the door isn’t yet closed.
The shop, located at 18211 Dixie Highway, has been a fixture in downtown Homewood for 45 years. In recent years, it has closed annually for the winter and reopened every summer.
Milazzo said Mitchell’s wasn’t able to find a full-time front-of-the-house and merchandising manager. He said back-of-the-house production management was moved to a Gino’s East in Chicago, which is also owned by Bravo.
A flyer circulated by the Homewood Chamber of Commerce said the store was looking for employees whose duties would include “good front-of-house customer service, merchandising, being able to make ice cream creations, gift wrap boxes of chocolates and assuring a clean environment for customers.”
“We are just having a very difficult time with staffing the store,” Milazzo said. “We have enough part-time help but we just need that manager.”
If the positions aren’t staffed by the end of June, Milazzo said, the store will not open this season.
Milazzo said the Mitchell’s didn’t see the foot traffic in Homewood that Bravo would’ve liked to see.
“It’s been border line not opening up, anyway. The traffic just hasn’t been there,” Milazzo said. “That’s been disappointing to us.”
Mitchell’s Ice Cream and Candies first opened in 1931 in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago. The store moved to the location on Dixie Highway in 1972. The menu includes 34 different flavors of ice cream, sherbet and sorbet served by the scoop, cone, dish or as part of a banana split, brownie delight or sundae.
Mitchell’s ice cream is also sold in grocery stores throughout the Chicago area.
Anyone interested in filling the positions for Mitchell’s can email a resume to[email protected], Milazzo said.