Miller’s Closes
Posted by Jim at October 30th, 2004
With no warning, Miller’s recently closed.
I don’t know why. All I know is that the city posted an announcement that there’s a lien on the the property. Next to it, there’s another announcement from a leasing company explaining that they’re renting the place out.
I don’t know what happened. They seemed to be doing okay. The family that owned it had operated a restaraunt for years so it’s not as if they didn’t know what they were doing. Aside from that, the business they took over had been around since the late 1800’s. It’s something of an institution.
I hope that whoever buys the business keeps it roughly the same. Also, I hope that they honor gift certificates from the previous version of Miller’s.
Kristen (my wife) lost one, recently found it in her glove compartment, and is very annoyed.
Miller’s Ice Cream? The one on Burton? NOOOOOO! There goes my five-minute walks with the family on a hot summer afternoon! Gaah!
jtr
Yes. That one. It does stink.
Aside from that… Five minute walks? For me it’s about 10. But you’re right, if no one buys it, no more summer walks to get ice cream.
For the moment, I’m optimistic though. It just seems impossible for the place to just die. Someone’s got to take it on.
Jim Zoetewey
I’m curious. What is it about Miller’s Ice Cream that everyone loves?
Joe
For some people, I suspect it’s largely nostalgia. They probably went to Miller’s as kids and got ice cream during the summer.
I ran across the place first as an adult and was amused to find an ice cream place/diner that seemed virtually unchanged since the 50’s-60’s or earlier. Beyond anything else, I liked the many flavors of ice cream, the menu (which made no concessions to dieters), and the fact that they made good milk shakes, sundaes, banana splits etc…
So, in summary:
1. Nostalgia
2. Ice cream
Jim Zoetewey
Miller’s Ice Cream is still around, just not their stores. Miller’s can still be bought at many convenience stores, and at a number of restaurants in MI.
Joe
Miller’s stores haven’t been around for ages. Not as a chain anyway. That being said, this post was about a Miller’s ice cream shop that had survived as a standalone entity even though the chain itself had closed. The restaraunt/ice cream shop had been going since the late 1890’s. In fact, I’m pretty sure it didn’t even use Miller’s ice cream anymore. I think it used Hudsonville.
The kind of ice cream served is something of a moot point, however. What matters is that a very cool place is gone.
Jim Zoetewey
My father bought out Miller’s Ice Cream years ago and sold it in his dairy stores. Whenever I visit I can’t wait to eat some. He owned about 12 stores at one time until places like 7-11 took over all the mom and pop stores.
Molly