It may be getting colder outside, but starting on Black Friday, Gigi’s Ice Cream Bar will be offering heart-warming flavors inside the Fresh Stack Burger in Kildeer, Illinois.
“We are offering premium ice cream from Chocolate Shoppe, a Wisconsin favorite,” Fresh Stack co-founder and CEO Sean Thomas said. “All of their ice cream is locally made to Wisconsin, using only premium ingredients. Additionally, we are serving super-premium, Instagram-able shakes.”
According to Thomas, Gigi's Ice Cream Bar is a new concept that Fresh Stack developed after purchasing the Kildeer store, which is located at 20413 N. Rand Road. The location once housed a restaurant and bar inside, and Fresh Stack saw it as an opportunity to do something unique with the existing architecture.
"We're so excited to bring Gigi's to the community," Thomas said. "We are serving up over-the-top, loaded shakes. They come with cookies, brownies, cake and other cool fixins. We're also serving up premium ice cream from Chocolate Shoppe. We're very excited.”
Wisconsin's headquartered Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company was founded in 1962 by Chuck Sr. and Nancy Deadman as a small candy and ice cream shop. Chocolate Shoppe ice cream offers more than more than 100 "super-premium, award-winning ice cream flavors" that are uniquely creamy due to the process in which it is made. The company has since grown to encompass four ice cream parlors, a manufacturing plant, and upwards of 400 independent food establishments nationwide it provides its brand for.
In a nod to the company's family roots, Thomas explained that the name Gigi's came from his business partner, Poke Bowl Co. owner Mookie Lee, whose fiancé calls her grandmother Gigi.
"They have memories of her and visiting an ice cream parlor in Texas,” he recalled. “To pay homage to their relationship and highlight some of their ice cream trips, we decided to name it Gigi’s.”
In addition to the delicious ice cream, Fresh Stack has converted its four-seasons patio into a winter wonderland, Thomas said, which has a strong Christmas theme throughout the space.
Before tasting the cool dessert treats, Fresh Stack also offers premium menu items, including all-Angus beef burgers and fresh, hand-breaded chicken from local farms – all topped with fresh ingredients provided by local whole foods markets.
The idea of fast-casual Fresh Stack Burger was sparked when Thomas met business partner Fabio Viviani for the first time in Philadelphia. Both were attending the same event, searching for a unique burger concept. Not able to find a satisfying choice, the two began brainstorming a concept of combining Thomas’ quick-service experience with Viviani’s full-service culinary expertise. These ingredients proved to be a match, and the rest is history.