A frosty farewell

When sophomore Joe Ting arrived at his favorite ice-cream shop, Cold Stone Creamery at 530 E. Kirkwood Ave. for his usual Birthday Cake Remix, he was surprised he could no longer smell Cold Stone's delicious and sweetly scented aroma.\nInstead, he was greeted by a window that was completely covered in brown paper and a simple red sign informing customers that Cold Stone Creamery had moved.\nWhile the sign does not say where the new location will be, it does ask customers to visit the other Bloomington location, 115 N. State Road 46, near Best Buy, for a 10 percent discount with an IU ID.\nAs of right now, Barry Keaton, the owner of both Bloomington Cold Stone stores, said he doesn't know where the new Cold Stone will be relocated to because he has "so many options."\nHe expects that it will take about two months until he finds the perfect spot for his second location. \nAfter three years at the Kirkwood location, Cold Stone's relocation seemed to be a surprise to many of its customers.\n"I was so confused," Ting said. "I was just here last Saturday. Now it's closed?"\nMultiple reasons contributed to the location closing, Keaton said.\nKeaton said there was another franchise that wanted Cold Stone's Kirkwood location "really badly," and since he had two Cold Stone stores so close by, he felt that it made "good financial sense" if he relocated to another location.\nCold Stone's sudden closing Jan. 21 was due to the fact that Keaton wanted to help the new owners move in and open up as quickly as possible, while school was still in session. \n"That helps them and I wanted to help them." Keaton said.\nHe said the new owner will be selling food at Cold Stone's old location, but he doesn't know what kind of restaurant it will be. \nIt was because of Cold Stone's convenient location on Kirkwood that attracted many of its devoted customers, said freshman Eric Westrick.\nWestrick, who said he has been a loyal customer, said it will be harder for him to get his favorite ice cream now that Cold Stone has moved. \n"(Third and the Bypass) is too far, and I don't have a car," Westrick said, "So I'll probably visit, but definitely less often."\nTing, on the other hand, said that he cannot live without his "monthly dose of Cold Stone's Birthday Cake Remix," so he has no problem making an extra effort to go to the State Road 46 location.\nBecause of customers like Ting, Keaton said he is sure his future Cold Stone business will still be just as prosperous. While the Kirkwood location did well, he said he knows that he can get his next location "up and going."\nIn addition, he said he is assuming that his current location will be a lot busier because of the closing of the Kirkwood branch. In response to this he has "beefed up" the staff to accommodate the rush.\n"We're sorry we're moving this location," Keaton said. "Come to our other one and we'll give you 10 percent off for your trouble."\nBut Keaton reassures his customers that Cold Stone is in no kind of danger.\n"Everything is good," he said. "Everything is happy. Everything is just fine"