Ye Olde Ice Cream and Fudge Shoppe in Du Quoin will celebrate its 10th anniversary in April, but owner Bob Bytnar points to a more important accomplishment: The store has played a role in making Main Street a destination.
"That's one of the reasons we came back here," Bytnar says, "to help revitalize the downtown."
Formerly, Bytnar and his wife, Gayle, ran an ice cream store in Arkansas before moving back to Gayle's native Du Quoin. It was his wife's dream to open Ye Olde Ice Cream Shoppe, offering families an old-fashioned place to gather.
Unfortunately, Gayle Bytnar succumbed to cancer in 2010, but her dream continues through her husband's efforts as well as those of her daughter, Bobbi McRoy, and granddaughter, Breanna, who make homemade fudge right in the store.
"It's a nice, quiet place to bring the family for an ice cream cone," Bytnar says. "There are no video games, no TVs. It's just a place to enjoy time together."
The shop's setting adds to its nostalgic feel. Patrons sit at iconic ice cream parlor tables in metal chairs, and a jukebox offers hits from the 1970s and 1980s. People especially enjoy sitting out in front of the store in rockers, enjoying their cones.
And there are plenty of varieties of cones to enjoy. The store features 36 flavors of hand-dipped, premium ice cream shipped from Cedar Crest Dairy in Manitowoc, Wis.
Choosing flavors is just the start of the decisions for patrons. They also need to select a cone. Those include cake, waffle and chocolate dipped waffle cones, as well as cookie cones, including M & M, chocolate chip and Oreo cookie varieties.
Bytnar says one of the top sellers is the Superman flavor, followed closely by Pirate's Bounty, Caramel Collision and Snowflakes. They also offer seasonal specialties. In mid-September, they started featuring pumpkin pie ice cream.
"They're all good," he adds. "It's really hard to pick a favorite."
Of equal importance to the store's success is its homemade fudge, made by McRoy and her daughter. Favorites include traditional chocolate, as well as tiger butter and chocolate pecan fudge, but customers can request a flavor to be created as well.
The shop sells the fudge over the counter, and in gift boxes and in metal tins. Currently, McRoy and her daughter are preparing marketing plans for the holiday rush, which is always their busiest time.
If the store is a destination for families, its ice cream is a special treat at local church socials and fish fry events. Their store name also appears on many sports jerseys of teams in Du Quoin, which the shop sponsors.
"We're all about the kids," Bytnar says. "We opened this store so that kids and their families would have a place to go to, but we try to stay active in the community and sponsor their events."
