Johnson’s Ice Cream expands to Chicago

Chicago is going to get another taste of central Ohio’s ice cream.

Johnson’s Real Ice Cream is buying a Chicago ice cream shop called Bobtail and will rebrand the business early next year. The new Johnson’s in Chicago will open in March.

The acquisition was an easy one. Both Bobtail and Johnson’s are owned by members of the Wilcoxon family. Matt Wilcoxon runs Johnson’s while his brother Jeff co-owns Bobtail. Jeff Wilcoxon, who is also Johnson’s chief financial officer, started Bobtail in 2004 while in graduate school at the University of Chicago.

The new store in Chicago, the company’s first retail presence outside of central Ohio, will also help Johnson’s expand its distribution business, Matt Wilcoxon said.

“It makes sense for us to acquire this location and use it to build the brand,” Wilcoxon said. “It has been very successful. It’s a strong location, and Chicago is a strong market.”

Bobtail used many of Johnson’s recipes, but the ice cream will now be made here and shipped to Chicago to ensure quality and uniformity with the rest of Johnson’s products.

The store in Chicago, on North Broadway in the Lakeview East neighborhood, will close Jan. 1 and undergo significant renovations. The new look will mimic Johnson’s New Albany location.

Wilcoxon isn’t planning to pepper Chicago with additional ice cream stores, though it is a future possibility. He’s hoping instead to capture space in grocery stores, introduce Johnson’s ice cream catering to Chicago businesses and build a wholesale market in the Windy City.

This isn’t the first foray into Chicago for a central Ohio ice cream company. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has five scoop shops in Chicago, including a new one next door to Wrigley Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs.

“We see a lot of opportunity in Chicago,” Wilcoxon said.