There is nothing old school about Kyle and Alyssa Naumann, but their dream to reopen and rejuvenate the iconic Frosty Boy on the corner of Ann St. and Plainfield certainly has an old school feel to it.
Kyle says the decision to bring back the Frosty Boy was one part business planning and one part serendipity. He says his wife, Alyssa, who has almost 10 years of ice cream service experience, having worked her way through high school and college making milk shakes and scooping cones, has been looking for the right opportunity to get back in the business. "Owning her own shop had always been a dream," he says. "About five years ago we started to put into action turning that dream into a goal."
Naumann says they began looking for locations to open a shop when friends recommended they consider the old Frosty Boy location on the corner of Plainfield and Ann St., where a series of other ventures never took hold in the neighborhood. "We had not heard of Frosty Boy until we started mentioning that we were looking to open an ice cream shop in our neighborhood," says Kyle. "The community spoke highly of the corner of Plainfield and Ann and the memories of walking their kids, grandkids and themselves down for a wonderful frozen treat. We loved the name, we loved the concept of bringing back a mainstay to the neighborhood and there is a resemblance between "Jacob" (the boy in the Frosty Boy logo) and myself. It all seemed to fit into place."
Naumann says they plan to reopen the location in March 2015, depending on the weather, and they anticipate hiring between 5-10 part time staff. In meantime, they will be working on a complete makeover. "Our main goal is to be consistent with the ice cream shop you remember from childhood: simple, clean and let the ice cream and customer service be what you remember most. Our plans are to snap the place together in a neat and clean fashion. We will be painting the exterior walls, which are currently sunburst yellow, a subtle tan to blend with the wonderful brick facade on the other two walls. The underside of the seating area will also be seeing a color change from the same sunburst yellow. We will be updating the signage with a simple Frosty Boy logo and utilizing back lights. All of the parking structures and other accent pieces will be receiving a wonderful coat of Frosty Boy red."
He says the most exciting update will be on the mural wall. "We hope to partner with City High/Middle on a hands-on project for their classes to paint the space on an annual basis."
There is plenty of room on the Frosty Boy bandwagon. Just
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Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News editor
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