Ice Cream Chain Coming To Clarendon Hills

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – An ice cream chain is coming to Clarendon Hills, a couple of years after the village lost its only ice cream shop.

Rita's Italian Ice is expected to open later this year at 22 S. Prospect Ave. That's the downtown space previously occupied by Four Sons Mercantile, a men's clothing store that moved in March to Glen Ellyn.

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Rita's has 500 locations across the country, with nearby ones in Oak Lawn and Park Ridge.

"An ice cream vendor has been top of the list for Downtown Clarendon Hills," Ed Cage, the village's community development director, said in a statement last week. "The operator is working on their permit plans, and Staff expects the permit documents will be submitted soon for review and approval."

In July 2024, residents showed their support by holding an event outside the Daily Scoop ice cream shop at 9 S. Prospect Ave.

At the time, owner Chuck Kaufman said the landlord was hiking the rent by 45 percent, which he said was unaffordable. The landlord said the rent was "drastically" under market.