At Zarlengo's, Heights Residents Celebrate a Different Opening Day

Many Heights area residents have been waiting for the one sure sign that spring is here, and now they've got it.

Zarlengo's Italian Ice and Gelato is open for the season.

Saturday morning the marquee with a happy kid licking an icy treat said "Opening soon," by noon, the sign had been changed to "Now open."

Opening day was celebrated with free junior-sized ice cream cones General Manager Tommy Zarlengo said.

"It's our thank you to our customers and fans," he added. Hundreds of ice cream cones were served, Zarlengo said, estimating between 500 and 700 people had stopped by the shop.

It's the the Italian ice shop's 28th season, 27-year-old Zarlengo said.

For Marian High School senior Mia Corradetti and her friends Zarlengo's has always been a part of summer.

"We've been coming here since we were born. It's an Italian tradition. Remember riding your bikes here," Corradetti asked her friends. "We drive now."

"You come here and you know everyone," frequent customer Emily Longo said.

"This is definitely the hot spot to be in Chicago Heights," Micael Rozema said as he ate spoonfuls of a peach arctic cooler.

The group of friends debated the best item on the menu but couldn’t decide on one. They like the twist ice cream cones with twinkle coat, strawberry Italian ice and coffee gelato.

Zarlengo said everything is high quality and the gelato and Italian ice is all made in house. There can be a combination of 25 to 50 different flavors of gelato and Italian ice each day.

“When we run out of one thing,” we put another on the menu, said Operations Manager Todd Zarlengo, who is Tommy Zarlengo's brother.

Both brothers said they have three favorite flavors of Italian ice: mango, raspberry and passion fruit. Tommy said canola and brown sugar and cinnamon gelato are his favorites, while Todd favors the turtle gelato which is made with caramel, roasted pecans, milk chocolate and more caramel.

“Oh yeah, that’s good,” Todd said.

Zarlengo's was opened by Tommy and Todd's parents Tom and Mary Lou Zarlengo, who are still the owners. It has always been a family business where the brothers and their older sister Alison Zarlengo worked.

The majority of the shop's employees are also family members or family friends, Tommy said.

The shop closes for the winter, but Italian ice is available in tubes at locations throughout the area.

The family business has grown to include sales at Sox games at U.S. Cellular Field, but Todd said they don't plan on changing what makes them successful.

"We're going to keep doing the same thing," he said. "Our focus is quality."

"And putting smiles on people's faces," Tommy added.

 The brothers said they like seeing the same familiar faces year after year.

"Every year (the kids) get a little big bigger," Todd said.

"And after a while the customers start to become like family," Tommy said, once again finishing his brother's thought.

You can visit Zarlengo's Italian Ice and Gelato at 257 W. Joe Orr Road in Chicago Heights. It is open from noon to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays. Zarlengo's only accepts cash.

More information is available at zarlengositalianice.com or you can become a fan on Facebook. To find out where to get Zarlengo’s Italian ice elsewhere, call (708) 754-9080.