A sweet tradition had folks lined up in anticipation on Tuesday, April 16, at the Ben & Jerry’s on Water Street in downtown Naperville.
Ben & Jerry’s has celebrated Free Cone Day since 1979, but this was only the second year that the Naperville location got in on the fun, letting customers try a scoop of one of their signature flavors for free.
“Free Cone Day is a day where we give back to our loyal customers, a little joy to everyone, and feature our scoop shop here in the community,” said Ben and Jerry’s manager Gabby Serna.
Free Cone Day offers tasty sample of signature flavors
Eleven different flavors were being served…and it wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill chocolate and vanilla.
“We have our classic chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate fudge brownie. My new favorite that just came out this year was mango, and it’s a mango ice cream with sweet cream swirls. And then we have our dirt cake, that we feature in our dirt cake sundae, as well as vanilla, our lemonade sorbet for our vegan non-dairy customers, and Cherry Garcia and strawberry cheesecake for some classics,” said Serna.
Promotion benefits Naperville Area Humane Society
This year the scoop shop partnered up with the Naperville Area Humane Society (NAHS) to earn some money for their mission. Those who wanted to upgrade their cone could give some cash to the cause.
“We’re doing $2 waffle cones and all that goes to the humane society, and then we’re raffling off three raffle baskets. And those are $2 for a raffle ticket. And again, all proceeds will be going to the humane society to help the shelter,” said Serna.
Donations of supplies for the NAHS were also welcomed at the event.
“We are here to reach out to the community more, let people know more about the humane society and all the animals that are ready for adoption. As well as, if you don’t want to adopt, you can always donate to support our veterinary care,” said Naperville Humane Society Special Event and Foster Care Coordinator Nancy Swantek.
Sweet start ahead of summer season
In all, there were more than 4,000 customers who came out for a free flavor, and a taste of what they can enjoy when they stop in the shop.
“We’re excited to hopefully get some new customers, have our regular customers enjoy this beautiful day as well, and we look forward to a great summer,” said Serna.
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