'It's a fun job': Popular Peoria Heights ice cream business expanding under new ownership

Matt Algas had thought of a good way to spend his time after retiring from his job as a drywall finisher: owning his own ice cream shop .

He just didn't think the opportunity was going to come so quickly.

"We had heard that (Emack & Bolio's) was for sale," Algas said. "I had considered in the future doing something like this once I retired from the union. When my wife, who is a realtor, heard that this was for sale, we decided to make an appointment to take a look at it and see if we were interested in it or not."

After seeing an article in the Journal Star about the sale, Algas and his wife decided to take the jump into the ice cream business, buying the Peoria Heights store of the Emack & Bolio's ice cream chain from local business owner Kati Faletti last November.

Emack & Bolio's has a second store in the former Peoria Riverfront Visitors Center that opened in 2015 after reaching an agreement with the city of Peoria, which owns the Water Street building that houses it.

Algas didn't have a ton of time with the store open last winter. He made sure everything was open during the holiday season before closing for a few months to make some changes and make the store his own.

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For instance, the shop now serves homemade waffle bowls to go along with traditional bowls and cones. Most of the equipment needed to make the bowls – and sprinkle on the chocolate sauce and other toppings – was available in the store, so Algas decided to put it to good use.

"I don't know if those were utilized before," Algas said. "I know the equipment was here, but I don't think they were too popular. We decided we were making them weekly and they go like crazy."

In addition, Algas has adorned the walls with artwork and installed a whiteboard where people can write down whatever they are thinking at any given point in a day.

"I included that whiteboard for kids to entertain their brains while their parents are eating ice cream," Algas said.

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The board changes from day to day, with Algas erasing the prior day's work to start anew the next day. In some cases, people can find inspiration from what is already on the board, with Algas' nephew, Noah, starting a bit of a trend through asking customers to write their name on the board, which many of them proceeded to do.

"His name was covered at the end of the day by everybody (else's) name," Algas said. "It's just so random. It can be anything from kids drawing ice cream cones (to) anything (else)."

Algas is quick to remind people that the content on the board is "very G-rated," although there have been times where the line has been crossed.

"There was just a 'For a good time' kind of thing up there," Algas said. "(I) was like, 'No, that doesn't belong there.'"

Those more familiar with Emack & Bolio's won't find that too much has changed under Algas' ownership. Their traditional ice cream flavors remain available, with the same rock 'n' roll vibe that permeates the chain, which also has stores in Massachusetts, New York and even in China.

For the future, Algas is thinking about making the brand a bit more mobile, allowing people to bring the Emack & Bolio's flavor to parties and other social events. He also plans to be a regular visitor to Peoria Heights' Friday Night in the Heights with his mobile shop.

"Every first Friday of the month, there's a band and a social gathering," Algas said. "We're going to be doing a lot of the (Peoria) Park District stuff, PrideFest, the drone fest, all kinds of things at the riverfront. We're going to be doing a lot of mobile stuff."

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A resident of Peoria Heights, Algas just wants to continue making Emack & Bolio's a vital part of the community through his entrepreneurship. While he's still getting his feet wet in the ice cream business, he feels that he's been able to adapt to just about anything it will throw at him.

"I adapt to just about any job that I ever have," Algas said. "Even though I've been doing drywall for the last 30 years, I can adapt to just about anything. I just learned it (and) there's really not that much to it. You just have to be aware of your allergy stuff (and) the law side of it, but for the most part, it's just (about) having a good time.

It's always a fun job. There's people in here that I just chat with. It's a fun job."

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: 'It's a fun job': Popular Peoria Heights ice cream business expanding under new ownership