ABOUT TONIGHT AND TOMORROW AND TUESDAY. COMING UP, CECIL. OPHELIA. THANK YOU. WE TURN NOW TO SOME SAD NEWS TONIGHT OUT OF OAK PARK, A NEIGHBORHOOD ICE CREAM SHOP ANNOUNCED IT WILL BE CLOSING ITS DOORS AFTER JUST OVER TWO YEARS IN BUSINESS. LICKED ICE CREAM SITS AT THE CORNER OF BROADWAY AND 34TH STREET HERE IN THE CAPITAL CITY. THE OWNER SAYS THEY WEREN’T GETTING THE FOOT TRAFFIC. THEY NEEDED TO STAY OPEN. KCRA 3’S PEYTON HEADLEE IS LIVE OUTSIDE THE SHOP NOW. SO, PEYTON, HOW ARE PEOPLE FEELING ABOUT THIS? YEAH, PEOPLE ARE PRETTY BUMMED TO SEE THIS SPOT GO. WE’VE SEEN QUITE A FEW FOLKS COMING THROUGH HERE TODAY, BUT IT’S BEEN A TOSS UP ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEY KNEW THAT LICK JUST HAS A FEW MORE DAYS IN BUSINESS. SITTING AT THE CORNER OF BROADWAY AND 34TH LICK ICE CREAM WAS SUSAN STEWART’S LOVE LETTER TO OAK PARK. I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE REALLY SWEET TO HAVE PEOPLE, LIKE, KIND OF ROAMING THE STREETS WITH THEIR ICE CREAM CONE, WITH THEIR FAMILIES, AND JUST ENJOYING OAK PARK IN SACRAMENTO SUMMERS. SHE’S WORKED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR YEARS, ALSO RUNNING THE STRAPPING GIFT STORE JUST ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE ICE CREAM SHOP. I JUST REALLY WANTED OUR NEIGHBORHOOD TO HAVE A LOCAL ICE CREAM SHOP. BUT RUNNING ANY SMALL BUSINESS, LET ALONE TWO, IS TOUGH. THIS WEEK, STEWART ANNOUNCED LICHT WILL BE CLOSING AT THE END OF THE MONTH. IT’S EXPENSIVE TO RUN A BUSINESS AND YOU HAVE TO SCOOP A LOT OF $4 ICE CREAM CONES TO MAKE MONEY, AND WE JUST WE WEREN’T GETTING THE THE WALKING TRAFFIC THAT WE HAD HOPED FOR TO KEEP IT AFLOAT. IT’S A BIG LOSS FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD, ONE THAT NEARBY SMALL BUSINESSES SAY THEY’RE SAD TO HEAR ABOUT, JUST WHEN IT’S GOING TO GET HOT AND THEY’RE LEAVING. SO I KNOW IT’S TOUGH. IT’S TOUGH FOR US. DEFINITELY A BUMMER TO HEAR ABOUT IT, BUT IT’S A REALITY THAT THEY UNDERSTAND. IT IS SO MUCH WORK AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT’S ALL FOR THE CAUSE. IT’S ALL LIKE, IT FEELS GOOD TO LIKE PUT IN THAT WORK, BUT IT DEFINITELY TAKES ITS TOLL. IT’S NOT A HOBBY, IT’S A PASSION, YOU KNOW, BUT WE HAVE TO PAY RENT AND PAY BILLS. THAT’S WHY THEY SAY SHOPPING LOCAL IS SO IMPORTANT. I LOVE THIS NEIGHBORHOOD SO MUCH, AND I WOULD LOVE TO BE A PART OF THIS FOR THIS NEIGHBORHOOD FOR MANY, MANY YEARS TO COME. AND I REALLY DO HOPE THAT SOMEBODY ELSE TAKES OVER THE SPACE THAT HAS A REALLY BIG HEART FOR THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. AND THEIR LAST DAY IN BUSINESS WILL BE ON FRIDAY, JULY 31ST. UNTIL THEN, IT IS BUSINESS AS USUAL. MEANWHILE, SUSAN SAYS SHE WILL BE POURING ALL OF HER ENERGY INTO HER STORE RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET CALLED STRAPPING LIVE IN SA
‘We never really got off the ground’: Oak Park ice cream shop to close after two years
Licked, a neighborhood ice cream shop in Oak Park, will close its doors at the end of July.
Licked, a neighborhood ice cream shop in Oak Park, will close its doors at the end of July after more than two years in business. “I thought it’d be really sweet to have people like kind of roaming the streets with their ice cream cone with their families and just enjoying Oak Park and Sacramento summers,” owner Susan Stewart said. Stewart, who has worked in the neighborhood for years and also runs the Strapping gift store across the street, said she wanted the community to have a local ice cream shop. She called it her love letter to Oak Park. However, running any small business, let alone two, is tough. “We never really got off the ground. I think we’re too close to Gunther’s. I think people are very loyal here. And I think that’s like, you know, having a big icon like that is really hard to compete with, which is fine. I never expected that,” she said. “It’s expensive to run a business, and you have to scoop a lot of $4 ice cream cones to make money. And we just weren’t getting the walking traffic that we had hoped for to keep it afloat.”The closure is a loss for the neighborhood, and nearby small businesses expressed their sadness. “Just when it’s going to get hot and they’re leaving. So, I know it’s tough. It’s tough for us,” Joel Molina, co-owner of Twelves Wax, said. “Definitely is a bummer to hear about it,” Hannah Emery, a florist at Botanic, said. They also acknowledged the challenges of running a small business. “It is so much work, and it’s all for the cause, and it feels good to put in that work, but it definitely takes its toll,” Emery said. “Shop local as much as you can. I know that the economy is rough. Like we’re all in it. So it’s like when you have something to spare, come in. Even if it’s just like a few dollars here and there.””It’s not a hobby. It’s a passion, you know? But we have to pay rent and pay bills,” Molina said. “Without the community, like these businesses wouldn’t be here.”Stewart emphasized the importance of shopping local and shared her hopes for the future of the space. “I love this neighborhood so much. I would love to be a part of this for this neighborhood for many, many years to come. And I really do hope that somebody else takes over the space that has a really big heart for this neighborhood,” she said. Licked’s last day of operation will be Friday, July 31. Until then, the shop will remain open as usual. Stewart said she plans to focus her energy on her other business, Strapping.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google
Licked, a neighborhood ice cream shop in Oak Park, will close its doors at the end of July after more than two years in business.
“I thought it’d be really sweet to have people like kind of roaming the streets with their ice cream cone with their families and just enjoying Oak Park and Sacramento summers,” owner Susan Stewart said.
Stewart, who has worked in the neighborhood for years and also runs the Strapping gift store across the street, said she wanted the community to have a local ice cream shop. She called it her love letter to Oak Park.
However, running any small business, let alone two, is tough.
“We never really got off the ground. I think we’re too close to Gunther’s. I think people are very loyal here. And I think that’s like, you know, having a big icon like that is really hard to compete with, which is fine. I never expected that,” she said. “It’s expensive to run a business, and you have to scoop a lot of $4 ice cream cones to make money. And we just weren’t getting the walking traffic that we had hoped for to keep it afloat.”
The closure is a loss for the neighborhood, and nearby small businesses expressed their sadness.
“Just when it’s going to get hot and they’re leaving. So, I know it’s tough. It’s tough for us,” Joel Molina, co-owner of Twelves Wax, said.
“Definitely is a bummer to hear about it,” Hannah Emery, a florist at Botanic, said.
They also acknowledged the challenges of running a small business.
“It is so much work, and it’s all for the cause, and it feels good to put in that work, but it definitely takes its toll,” Emery said. “Shop local as much as you can. I know that the economy is rough. Like we’re all in it. So it’s like when you have something to spare, come in. Even if it’s just like a few dollars here and there.”
“It’s not a hobby. It’s a passion, you know? But we have to pay rent and pay bills,” Molina said. “Without the community, like these businesses wouldn’t be here.”
Stewart emphasized the importance of shopping local and shared her hopes for the future of the space.
“I love this neighborhood so much. I would love to be a part of this for this neighborhood for many, many years to come. And I really do hope that somebody else takes over the space that has a really big heart for this neighborhood,” she said.
Licked’s last day of operation will be Friday, July 31. Until then, the shop will remain open as usual. Stewart said she plans to focus her energy on her other business, Strapping.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google
