As the heat of summer dies down and the scent of sunscreen fades, eager customers pack Evanston’s ice cream shops, hoping to get one last taste of summer.
One of these locations, Hartigan’s Ice Cream Shoppe, an ice cream hotspot located on the corner of Central & Lincolnwood, delights locals with its bubbly and welcoming vibe.
“We have a really special, unique ambiance that allows us to have a great feeling about our store,” said Marcia Hartigan, owner of Hartigan’s. “The customers love it. We really feel like a tight-knit family.”
Hartigan mentioned her customer bond a great deal of times, emphasizing that it’s an incredibly important part of the way Hartigan’s does business.
“Another thing that sets us apart is the way our customers are treated … I spend a great deal of time every single day talking about customer service and how important it is,” explained Hartigan. “… [I talk about] how important our ambience is and how important it is for everybody to be eating their ice cream in a friendly and very clean environment.”
The store has always been a staple of the community, and Hartigan notes how surreal it is to think about the effect that her store has had on Evanston.
“I didn’t really think about everybody loving us so much, until I really became very aware of it during the pandemic… It just feels kind of awkward to be taking all the compliments, but people just [keep] saying, ‘You have to listen to us, because we really mean it!’” Hartigan comments.
Most Evanstonians know and love Hartigan’s, but it is not widely known that the Evanston favorite was originally a Baskin Robbins. Terry and Marcia Hartigan worked there for roughly four years before they were offered the opportunity to buy and run the location themselves in 1980. The store entered a new era in 1996 when the couple severed ties with the Baskin Robbins chain, and renamed the shop after their last name. Now, Marcia continues to keep her and Terry’s dream alive while creating a place for long-lasting childhood memories for so many in the community!
While Hartigan’s is considered a business legacy by the city of Evanston, the community recently gained an additional ice cream spot – Parlor. Located just west of the corner on Central and Prairie, Parlor opened its doors in May of 2024.
Since coming to Evanston, Parlor has built a community full of love and support.
According to Demi Urosevic, one of the owners, “We were just nervous about the community’s response, but it has been overwhelmingly positive, and we couldn’t be happier.”
Urosevic has begun to notice just how much people value their presence on Central Street. “Everyone in the town so far has been so welcoming and positive. [They’ve] really enjoyed the shop and love our ice cream. Overall, I would say it’s been just really positive feedback from the community.”
Urosevic was drawn to the Parlor’s future location on Central because of her children – they live rather close to Independence Park, which is located directly across the street from the shop. When the space opened up, their initial thought was of family and availability.
“We constantly would talk about how there’s no ice cream on this part of Central,” she said, adding that she thought it would be helpful to the families that spend time at surrounding parks such as Independence Park, Ellingwood Park, and Howell Park. “When you have kids, you want to go somewhere within walking distance. So it was just the right fit in the right location.”
Another thing that the Urosevic family kept in mind when creating the shop was the amount of ice cream they would sell. One of their goals was to make sure that customers weren’t torn between an overwhelming amount of flavor choices.
“We wanted it to be a little more simple, so you don’t have decision paralysis. Plus, we wanted to change up the flavors every so often,” explained Urosevic. Parlor has about twelve flavors that are constantly on rotation. Shortly, they will be coming out with fall flavors, and winter after that.
The common phrase might be “out with the old, in with the new,” but the love shown to both the established Hartigan’s and the just-opened Parlor proves that Evanston residents see the value in both.
