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Graeter's Ice Cream obviously knows winter is the best time to talk ice cream in Chicago, as news hit that the Ohio-based chain will build a shop in the suburbs.
They plan on arriving in April in downtown Northbrook at 1347 Shermer Road, according to the Trib. Graeter's has about 40 stores in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. The Northbrook shop would be the first one in Illinois. The closest one to Chicago is about 300 miles away in Indianapolis, coincidentally on Illinois Street. Chicago and Nashville are primary expansion targets for Graeter's.
Illinois retailers have sold the ice cream in stores for about three years, the Trib notes. The company traces its roots to 1868 in Cincinnati.
UPDATE: A Graeter's spokesman said they're looking for a second location in Chicago, as the city is the ice cream maker's biggest retail market. They also receive the most requests to open stores in Chicago: "We are excited to dish our famous French Pot ice cream, handcrafted 2 1/2 gallons at a time!"
