WHEATON – As the weather warms, visitors to Wheaton's downtown will have another way to take the edge off the summer heat with a new Italian ice cart opening later this month.
Sunset Slush, an east coast cart chain that opened up a Glen Ellyn locale last summer, is intoducing a similar cart to dispense the slushy stuff near 120 E. Liberty Drive on the south side of the Wheaton train tracks.
Eric Anderson, who owns both local carts and is a longtime Glen Ellyn resident, said he decided to get into the flavored ice business after he and his family took several trips to North Carolina and enjoyed the cart's product.
"My family fell in love with Italian ice down there, and there was nothing like it in the Glen Ellyn area," he said. "We heard a lot of feedback from people ... saying it would be nice to have a dessert destination in downtown Glen Ellyn that a family could walk to or kids could bike to."
Italian ice is a cold dessert that involves mixing water and juice, fruit puree or other flavors while freezing them, creating a more consistent and stronger taste than snow cones or ice cream, Anderson said.
The concept proved popular enough to prompt a second spot, he said. The Wheaton cart will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays.
He said the move to Wheaton was a natural fit.
"It's such a vibrant, active downtown," he said. "When we came in there we perceived so much foot traffic ... the city was so helpful and receptive to our idea. It feels good coming to Wheaton."
He believes his product, featuring a rotation of up to nine flavors, will continue to be popular and eventually expand to every day of the week in Wheaton, as in Glen Ellyn.
To help achieve that, he hopes he can connect to the community, as he did in Glen Ellyn. Janet Dumas, who heads the Wheaton Public Library's children services department, confirmed Anderson will be donating coupons as reading incentive prizes for the library's summer reading club.
Jennifer Eldersveld, a Glen Ellyn resident and patron of Anderson's cart, said Anderson donated hundreds of cups of Italian ice to the Wheaton Christian Grammar School's Fall Festival Night fundraiser.
Eldersveld, a member of the school's parent organization, said the cups were a hit with kids and parents alike.
"I was impressed with both Eric and his wife and their ability to work with the community and wanting to be involved," she said. "It was nice to see – he's a down-to-earth nice guy who is easy to work with."