The Cone’s eye-catching, giant ice cream cone-shaped roof, which has been a popular family hangout since opening in 1995 under original owner Keith Wren, provided some over-hang cover for the initial wave of customers.
The first fan in the door – Nicky Kurtzweil of West Chester – was greeted by Beth Heydt, who along with husband Mike are the new owners.
“I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Kurtzweil. “This is such an institution and my favorite part of summer is when The Cone is opened.”
“I’m really excited to see it still going.”
She wasn’t alone.
Long-time patron Tara Mokren of Hamilton was among the first to line up at the customer windows.
“I grew up in West Chester. I was very happy to hear someone bought it,” said Mokren. “This place is very important, especially to kids.”
That isn’t going to change under the ice cream stand’s new management, said Mike Heydt.
“This is such an iconic place … so we pursued it (purchasing) and it worked out,” said Heydt, who along with wife Beth also own a Chicken Salad Chick franchise restaurant in nearby Mason.
The Heydt’s are former West Chester Twp. residents and while in the community were also long-time customers of The Cone, regularly treating their then young children there. Their purchase is a blessing, they said, and an honor for them to continue a beloved local tradition.
Social media hype, including The Cone’s Facebook page, have fueled enthusiasm for the re-opening, said Heydt.
“The views, likes, shares and comments everywhere are in the thousands. The excitement is big.”
The Wrens announced in September that it was “time to retire” after 50 years of operation. The Cone was first opened by Ken and Louella Wren in the Lockland-Reading area as the K&W Creamy Whip in 1973 before it moved to West Chester as The Cone in 1995.
Since then, The Cone has expanded from its initial cone-shaped store, with a drive-thru, indoor and outdoor seating, walk-up windows, an arcade and much more.
The Cone offers dozens of flavors of ice cream, sundaes, shakes and malts, floats, “wizzards,” seasonal items and more, but the shop is known for its “secret recipe” orange and vanilla ice cream.
The frozen treat offerings remain the same, said Heydt, but other changes stand out.
These include a new outdoor menu board along with bright and matching orange painted drive-through traffic poles and parking lot markings all now mirroring The Cone’s distinctive orange and vanilla ice cream cone roof.
Watching and helping on the opening was Wren, who said the ownership transition couldn’t have gone better thanks to the Heydts.
“I interviewed a lot of people (buyers) but everybody is super excited about Mike and Beth and that’s why I picked them,” said Wren.
(Journal-News media partner WCPO-TV contributed to this story)
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