LAKEVIEW — Good news for gourmet ice cream lovers.
Ohio artisanal ice cream shop Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams will be opening its first Illinois location at 3404 N. Southport Ave. in Lakeview, the former location of indie coffee shop Safari Cup, the company confirmed Tuesday.
The shop plans to open in August, a spokesman said.
The Columbus-based company opened in 2002 and has since exploded, with $12 pints selling across the country in gourmet markets such as Whole Foods, Southport Grocery & Cafe and Fox & Obel, and at 12 locations in Ohio and Tennessee.
Founder Jeni Britton Bauer also wrote an ice cream cookbook, "Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home," which won the James Beard Award for best baking and dessert book in 2011.
Jeni's features rotating flavors like chamomile or bananas and honey in addition to Jeni's classics such as Riesling poached pear sorbet and brambleberry crisp.