Andy's Frozen Custard drawing a crowd in Mount Prospect
The logo has a 1950s feel to it, with a bow-tied cartoon character wearing a white chef's cap holding aloft an oversized double-decker vanilla ice cream cone.
It conjures up images of old-fashioned drive-in fast-food restaurants, with rock 'n' roll music blaring from 1957 Chevys and families spending lazy summer evenings slurping ice-cream sundaes.
You will find a remnant of this feel when you visit the new Andy's Frozen Custard at 205 E. Rand Road in Mount Prospect, which opened at the beginning of the month.
Thus far, it is proving a magnet for families, who are lining up at the window to order such items as the butter pecan concrete, which blends butterscotch and roasted pecans with the vanilla or chocolate custard, or the Rico Suave jackhammer, with roasted pecans and Oreos with a hot fudge center.
The Mount Prospect location is the chain's eighth in Illinois, said spokeswoman Donna Scherner. The franchise began in Missouri in 1986 and also has locations in Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
If Friday's crowd offered any indication, Andy's should gain a firm foothold in the community.
As the sounds of traffic passing by on Rand Road mingled with “Hotel California” and other favorites spewing from the sound system, families were seated on benches enjoying their desserts, while friends were hanging out on the pavement munching on cones and shooting the breeze. Meanwhile, the hordes lined up to order meant a flurry of activity behind the glass as employees frantically worked to meet the demand.
Arlington Heights resident Jim Licato said he had been working up an appetite for Andy's during the months when he would pass by and see it under construction.
On Friday, he and his family stopped by after dinner.
“I think it's really good,” he said of his vanilla and Oreo concoction. “It's tasty custard, smooth, refreshing.”
Cory and Niki Wood of Mount Prospect, who were there with daughters Reilly, 4, and Piper, 2, said Friday's visit was a return trip
Niki said not only is the custard good, but, “It's a cool place to hang out.”