Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Parson's Ice Rink Not Open Yet Due to Mild Weather

By Mina Bloom | December 26, 2014 2:47pm
 "We are 100 percent dependent on Mother Nature," said a manager at Parson's Chicken and Fish.
"We are 100 percent dependent on Mother Nature," said a manager at Parson's Chicken and Fish.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Mina Bloom

LOGAN SQUARE — Thanks to a lack of cold weather, the highly anticipated ice rink at Parson's Chicken and Fish has yet to open. 

"We are 100 percent dependent on mother nature," said restaurant manager Samantha Hogan. "We don't have any source of external or internal freezing or a refrigeration system."

In early December, the chicken and fish joint at 2952 W. Armitage Ave. announced plans to open an ice rink on its outdoor patio. Weather permitting, the rink was scheduled to open Dec. 12.

Since then, restaurant employees continue to play a "waiting game," hoping for at least two "sustained, very cold" days to ensure that the ice is frozen all the way through to open the rink to the public, according to Hogan.

In the meantime, Hogan said she's been fielding a dozen to two dozens calls a day from patrons wondering when the rink will be open. 

"It's strange [because] the restaurant industry usually dreads colder weather," Hogan said. "We are anxious and excited for the weather to cool down."

On Friday, temperatures almost hit 50 degrees, and the weekend's forecast doesn't seem conducive for freezing the ice either.

"I'm going to say with a pretty high degree of certainty that it won't be open this weekend," Hogan said. 

While the opening date is still unclear, the rink will be "ready to go" once the ice is completely frozen.

Restaurant-goers of all ages will be able to either rent skates on site or bring their own. Regardless, it will cost $5 to skate.

Also in the works is a hot drink menu designed by bartender Charlie Schott. Hogan said patrons should expect variations on cider, coffee and hot chocolate. There will be both boozy and virgin options split into two categories: spicy and minty.

For example, one of the spicy drinks on the menu will combine white rum with an ancho reyes chili liqueur, among other ingredients, while a minty drink will contain ingredients like Wonderment Peppermint Liqueur and Letherbee Fernet.

For those who can't wait to take the ice, the winding, 20-foot-wide skating ribbon at Maggie Daley Park opened earlier this month. It's  a quarter-mile long, features 27,500 square feet of ice and can accommodate 700 skaters at a time.

Plus, there's always the old standby: the ice rink at Millennium Park.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: