The upscale ice cream shop shared the ground-floor building on Armitage Avenue with Foxtrot, which abruptly closed in late April.
Workers removed furniture and gutted the storefront that housed Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream, 900 W. Armitage Ave., on May 29, 2024. Credit: Patrick Filbin/Block Club Chicago
LINCOLN PARK — Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream in Lincoln Park has permanently closed following the abrupt closures of Foxtrot markets across the city.
Contractors were gutting and removing furniture and other equipment from the Lincoln Park shop at 900 W. Armitage Ave. on Wednesday afternoon. Jeni’s and Foxtrot shared the first floor of the building at the corner of Armitage Avenue and Fremont Street.
Foxtrot and Dom’s Kitchen & Market abruptly closed all 35 Chicago locations in late April, months after announcing a merger.
It’s not clear how Foxtrot’s closure affected Jeni’s next door, but a property manager with Peak Properties, the management company in charge of renting out the building, told Block Club both storefronts are available to lease.
A representative with Jeni’s confirmed Friday that the Armitage location is permanently closed and there are no immediate plans to reopen a location in Lincoln Park.
“Jeni’s loves being a part of the Chicago community and has amazing support at their shops throughout the city,” Maddie Caywood, a public relations specialist for Jeni’s, said in an email. “We are always looking for new expansion opportunities in the area.”
The former Foxtrot storefront on Armitage Avenue in Lincoln Park. Credit: Patrick Filbin/Block Club Chicago
Earlier this month, Eater reported that signs in the window of Jeni’s in Lincoln Park said the shop was getting a facelift but was still open.
Contractors hauling supplies and equipment from the storefront Wednesday told Block Club the store had been closed for weeks and Wednesday was the first day of “demo.”
Jeni’s first Chicago location opened in September 2013 at 3404 N. Southport Ave. in Lakeview. The most recent Jeni’s to open in Chicago was in Andersonville, the company’s ninth location in the city. There are also two suburban outposts of the upscale ice cream chain.
Jeni’s is named for award-winning ice cream maker Jeni Britton Bauer, who opened her first shop in Columbus, Ohio, in 2002.
