On Oct. 10, 2023, a beloved Ice Cream Parlor served its last scoop. Open for ten years, Go Ice Cream, settled in Ypsilanti, Michigan, would no longer stay open for business. In a saddening Instagram post, Go Ice Cream announced their closing and eternal gratitude for the endless support from their community. The founder and Ice Cream Man, Rob Hess, refused to cut costs further in order to keep his business going, claiming he would rather shut down than force his staff and work to be downgraded even further. 

“I could have cut corners on ingredients, paid the staff less, not offered fully-paid health care, or any number of other things that businesses do all the time, but that’s not who we are,” Hess said in the post. “In the end, the sad, stupid truth is that the money just isn’t there.” 

Go Ice Cream, loved by all, was known for its dedication to customers and community, as well as amazing ice cream and well-known snacks. The company was dedicated to the simple joy of loving a cold treat and was completely committed to the people they served and the community they had built. 

“I used to visit them after my sport,” freshman Sydney Aldrich said. “I loved their ice cream taco things, they were always really good. I’m sad that they’re shutting down. It really was a good memory, visiting the ice cream parlor and just eating whatever I wanted. I could tell that they put a lot of care into their products.”

With the pandemic hitting the company hard and income already being low, Go Ice Cream was pushed into a downward spiral regarding their business. Covid hit every small business, and Go Ice Cream is just one single company forced to give up their work.