Bolingbrook Gets 2nd Andy's, With Help From Dick Portillo

BOLINGBROOK, IL — The Village of Bolingbrook now has a second Andy's Frozen Custard, thanks in part to the help of a legendary local entrepreneur. Village officials and the local business community on Thursday cut the ribbon on the new Andy's, which neighbors the Bolingbrook Portillo's.

In fact, it was Portillo's founder Dick Portillo who asked the frozen custard shop to open next to his restaurant at the corner of Bolingbrook Drive and Boughton Road.

Portillo, who sold his eponymous restaurant chain in 2014 for nearly $1 billion, owns the strip mall on Boughton Road east of Bolingbrook Drive. When a bank that sat directly at the corner closed, Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar asked Portillo if he had any interest in also purchasing the bank property, Claar said Thursday at the ribbon cutting.

"[Portillo] said, 'OK, it's under contract. What should we do with it,'" Claar recalled Thursday. "Here we are now. It's so exciting to have these success stories."

Portillo said he thought an ice cream business would be a nice draw on the busy intersection and would complement his business. So Portillo called the owner of Missouri-based Andy's Frozen Custard, and asked if he would be interested in opening on the corner.

"I said, 'Is this the Mr. Portillo, with the hot dog place?'" Kuntz said with a laugh Thursday.

Andy's opened a Bolingbrook location at 260 Weber Road in 2006. Kuntz said there was some initial concern about opening a second location in town, but his worries were quelled after assurances from Portillo.

"We felt like it was a different market," Kuntz said of the new location. " Working with Mr. Portillo, I've learned a lot."

At the request of Portillo, the new Andy's has a larger interior space with retractable walls that be opened during warm weather. That's a change from other Andy's locations, which have larger outdoor seating and drive-thru business, Kuntz said.

Portillo said he is a fan of Andy's brand, and its business practices.

"The thing I respect about his business is he appreciates the workers," Portillo said.

The second Bolingbrook location is Andy's 13th local outpost. Andy's Frozen Custard at 450 N. Bolingbrook Dr. is open Sunday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.