FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — A beloved Fond du Lac frozen custard shop that's been serving the community since 1949 transforms into a Christmas tree lot each winter, trading scoops for balsam firs in a 30-year holiday tradition.
- To fit in with the holiday season, one old-fashioned custard business has pivoted to selling a different type of product.
- Gilles Frozen Custard in Fond du Lac has undergone an annual tradition of turning their restaurant into a Christmas tree store.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Open since 1949, Gilles Frozen Custard is one of Fond du Lac's most famous establishments.
"Gilles is just a Fond du Lac institution here," said co-owner Scott Gilgenbach. "Everyone who lives in Fond du Lac, they know about this place."
Over the decades, the old-school drive-in restaurant has maintained its status as dependably consistent.
"Nothing changes with us and that's another thing that has made us so popular is we really don't change our menu at all. We're doing everything the same," said Gilgenbach.
That continuity includes the restaurant's owners.
Gilgenbach has been there 38 years and started when he was 15 years old. His co-owner Chris Meyer has worked there for 45 years and started as a sophomore in high school when he 16 years old.
Unlike most in the ice cream business, Gilles closes every year in mid-November for the winter season.
They used to rent out their parking lot in the meantime.
"There used to be somebody that would rent this lot out and sell Christmas trees and then he was giving the customers bad service," said Gilgenbach
"It really started with that as Scott said, it was the lack of service that we didn't want associated with us," said Meyer.
In 1995, after overhearing the owners talk about this issue, a change was suggested.
"I just kind of said why don't we sell Christmas trees? We can do it," recalls Gilgenbach.
"Do we do it, not do it. We decided to do it. The pros outweighed the cons. We sell custard. Now we got to learn about trees. We did have to do some homework," said Meyer.
It might be jarring to see a custard place stockpile chainsaws, but after 30 years, Gilles knows their trees and they have their annual transformation down to a science.
"In three days, we flip it from custard to trees and right now we feel confident in all of that," said Meyer.
"From closing the drive-in, by that Friday we're ready to sell trees. Five days later, it looks like this."
If you want to pick up a Christmas tree from Gilles, you can get them until they're gone. Meanwhile if you're still waiting on custard, they're selling custard pies between December 20th and 22nd. Otherwise, you're going to have to wait until they reopen in early February.
