Each year the downtown commercial district grows with new businesses and two years ago it welcomed a new ice cream store to the area.
Each year the downtown commercial district grows with new businesses and two years ago it welcomed a new ice cream store to the area. “It’s humbling to us to be located in the South Loop,” said Glen Richardson, who owns Marble Slab Creamery with his wife, Renee But Marble Slab Creamery, a full-service ice cream shop, at 1241 S. Michigan Ave., is not your ordinary dessert spot. For starters, it’s a Black-owned franchise and is one of two Marble Slab stores in Illinois. The other store is in Savoy but is not Black-owned. The shop is 1,200 square feet and can seat up to 25 customers. It offers brownies and other sweets to satisfy those picky customers. Sales are down during the winter, but business remains steady with about 70 percent of its annual sales generated between April and September, according to L. Renee Richardson. In August 2007, after Glen and Renee both enjoyed successful careers in corporate America, the husband and wife put up $100,000 and went into business for themselves. The couple has been married for 13 years. “I always wanted to start my own business,” Glen said. “Prior to opening up Marble Slab here in Chicago I spent 24 years in retail management.” Renee is originally from Georgia where she first tasted ice cream from Marble Slab Creamery, which is headquartered in Houston. After earning a bachelor’s in business from Columbus State University in Georgia and an MBA from the University of Georgia, she relocated to Chicago to accept a management job at Leo Burnett USA where she spent 20 years before joining her husband in running the business full-time. “I stayed at Leo Burnett even after we opened the shop. Glen has all the retail management experience anyway, so I knew he could handle it,” she said. “I am the behind the scenes person who manages the finances.” The couple, who lives in the Bronzeville community, said their shop is unlike other ice cream shops, such as Baskin Robbins. “Our products do not have preservatives and are made fresh daily,” Glen told the Defender. “Our flavor line up is also unique and not found at your average ice cream shop.” Offered are 60 flavors – from sweet cream, chocolate peanut butter to a birthday cake creation, which has cake mixed in with ice cream. Every Monday ice cream is sold for 99 cents at Marble Slab. On average its ice cream costs between $3.50 and $4.69. “When a customer gets ice cream from us they do not get a single scoop but a nice serving of ice cream,” Renee said. “And remember, our products are made fresh daily and comes with an unlimited amount of toppings served in a waffle cone.” Many of its 25 to 50 employees are high school students who go on to attend college after graduation. The pair also believes in giving back to the community and this year funded a $1,000 scholarship at De La Salle High School on the South Side. They are looking to expand their philanthropy to other schools, particularly Black schools. Glen sees his achievement as a successful businessman a huge accomplishment considering he grew up in foster care. “Growing up I was told by so many people that I would not amount to anything,” said Glen, who grew up on the West Side. “But now I am married with my own business and that says a lot of my character.”
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