Whit’s Frozen Custard Manager David Nease works at the restaurant’s new location on East Fifth Street Friday afternoon, fixing it up ahead of the new site’s launch. Whit’s Operator Todd Poole said he’s aiming for a May 1 opening for the ice cream shop.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Will Channell)
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About a month and a half after announcing he wasn’t reopening this year, Whit’s Frozen Custard operator Todd Poole said the shop has found a new local home.|
According to Poole, Whit’s aims to reopen on May 1 at 123 E. Fifth St., next door to the Ribbon Box.
Last month’s closure announcement came after months of trouble with the landlord of his previous building Mason Equity Group.
Poole said he’d been trying to purchase the old building outright, though Mason refused to sell. He made an agreement with Mason late last year that included the landlord would chip in money for improvements if Whit’s would sign on for a new decade-long lease.
It became apparent Mason would not pay its share, and it became difficult for Poole to contact the company. The work that had already started made the space unusable, and Poole decided to end the relationship with Mason Equity Group.
Poole said when it became clear Whit’s was going to vacate its previous location, he immediately began looking for a new building.
“We were still obligated to the other building for a time, so we couldn’t make any decisions,” Poole said.
Poole first focused on finding a replacement in the Uptown area, and contacted the owner of Delaware restaurant Opa, Genti Koci, who was leasing the building.
Poole asked him what his plans were, and Koci said he still intended to come to Marysville. Poole contacted the building’s owner, Chad Gilsinger, and asked him to keep Whit’s in mind if anything changed with the lease.
“We kind of left it alone after that,” Poole said.
Gilsinger responded a few weeks later, and said Koci spoke to him about the situation. According to Poole, Koci said he felt bad that Whit’s had been displaced.
“He basically yielded his position so our business could survive in town,” Poole said. “And we couldn’t be more grateful.”
Poole said he gets the sense that having a vacant building sitting empty “broke their hearts.”
“It’s a whole different feeling altogether,” Poole said. “We signed the lease at their personal residence in front of their family.”
He said Gilsinger and his family had “altruistic” intentions.
“They felt like the building deserved to have an operating building,” Poole said.
Poole said the size of the building is smaller, but it’s more of a “useful design,” which will allow for better efficiency.
He said he and his employees are looking to “really make it our own there.”
Many of the employees who previously worked at the Marysville location are working in the Bellefontaine Whit’s location. He said “some of the most dedicated people you’ll ever know” are part of his staff.
Poole also went out of his way to praise the City of Marysville for support during the move. He said the city has “helped us out to the extent that they’re allowed to.”
“Oftentimes people want to point the finger at the city,” Poole said. “I can say as a small business owner, we’ve had a lot of support from the city.”