Jiffy Treet on Kirkwood set to close in months

Kirkwood Avenue has long been a Bloomington landmark, hosting local restaurants, bars, clothing shops and, of course, ice cream. But Jiffy Treet won't be part of Kirkwood's scene for much longer.\nJiffy Treet, which has been serving ice cream on Kirkwood for 19 years, is set to close its doors at the beginning of December, Jiffy Treet owner Hartzell Martel said. The shop's lease has ended, and renewing it is not an option, Martel said, because the building is going to be torn down by Tartan Realty Group of Chicago, who bought the building and land this year.\nMartel has been Kirkwood Jiffy Treet's owner for 14 years and prides his shop on "good customer service and good ice cream," he said. The pin-striped '50s style ice cream parlor has long been a part of Kirkwood's landscape and was previously a Baskin-Robbins, Martel said. Other Bloomington Jiffy Treets will remain open, and Martell hopes to relocate his store as soon as they find a new location somewhere downtown.\nTartan Realty Company refused to speak on the project or what type of building will be going up in Jiffy Treet's place. The company's Web site stated that the building will be made into a "multi-story mixed-use redevelopment."\nAlthough renewing the lease was an option, Martel said it wouldn't have been worth it because the building will be torn down. The shop could have stayed in the same place but would have been forced to a narrower, deeper space at a much higher price per square foot, he said. \nBuying the building is also not an option because it's not for sale.\n"They want to develop it and make more money for their money," Martel said. "Something's gotta go, I guess."\nIt didn't come as a surprise to senior Kristen Bein that a big company with money would push out a small, local place.\n"Unfortunately, it's just the way that the capital system works," she said. "Corporate America is taking over, and that's just the facts."\nFreshmen Jenna Sherman and Courtney Castino said they have made Jiffy Treet a daily tradition since coming to IU.\n"Until they move somewhere else, I don't know where we're gonna go," Sherman said.\nBut what Martel said he is most worried about is keeping his customers that he's developed through the years when his shop relocates. He hopes to relocate between Fourth and Sixth streets and stay there for many years.\n"When you're shut down for a long time, people start to forget about you," he said. "Hopefully that won't happen."\nParents who visited IU over the weekend commented on the upcoming loss of the classic Jiffy Treet many of them visited as former IU students, employee and IU junior Michael Love said.\n"Now when they come to visit their kids, it's not gonna be here anymore," he said. \nWith about nine employees, Kirkwood Jiffy Treet is often more like a family than a work group, Love said.\nMartel estimated about 3.5 million ice cream combinations exist at his Jiffy Treet, between the hard and soft serve ice cream, fat-free yogurt and all the toppings and flavors. His shop is the only one that has 24 soft-serve flavors, and it was mentioned in Bon Appètit magazine in 1999, he said.\nMartel also acquired the Jiffy Treet on Pete Ellis Drive, near the mall, within the last few weeks.\nMartel encourages customers to visit the other Jiffy Treets in Bloomington when his shop closes because they are supportive of one another.\nBloomington residents and students will miss the unique ice cream shop that has been a part of IU tradition for so long, he said.\n"It has character," he said. "It's not one of those things you would see anywhere else"