Dairy Queen Customers Won't Get The Boot Past 9 P.M.

Patrons of the Dairy Queen on Lake Avenue in Wilmette will now have an hour to park their cars at the strip mall next door without getting the boot.

That was the compromise agreed upon between Dairy Queen owner Bill Ridge and strip mall owner MJK Real Estate, according to the Wilmette Life. Those who park in the nearby lot and head over to Dairy Queen will still have their cars given the boot by Chicago Parking Management, but the wheel clamps will stop at 9 p.m. every night - the closing time of all strip mall businesses (Starbucks, Eco-direct, Jimmy John’s).

Dairy Queen stays open until 10 p.m.

Also on Patch: Blackhawk Road Street Sign Stolen After Stanley Cup Clincher

Ridge told the Life the change is not going to affect his customers much, so much that an additional sign won’t even be needed to inform them of the minor change.

“It’s not worth putting up signs that people can park there after 9, because then someone would try to park at 8:30 (p.m.) and they’d still get booted,” he said.

Customers who have been “booted” have had to pay up to $150 for CPM to remove it from their vehicles. 

CPM began putting up signs notifying those of the booting campaign on April 30, but the ensuing anger may have been the trigger for a few criminal acts since then.

Also on Patch: Elderly Winnetka Couple Filmed on Free Trip to Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee

In May, rocks were thrown threw the front windows of both the dry cleaners and coffee shop on two occasions. A nearby gas station worker reported seeing three people doing that shortly before midnight each time, but they fled before police could respond.

On June 10, the owner of Eco-direct found a threatening letter left at his store overnight.

more via the Wilmette Life

Image: Shutterstock.com