Cock Robin lives

Addressing closed favorites & 30's style hamburgers
prompted me to call Cock Robin. Apparently the
heirs to the throne took a stab at reopening the
chain with maybe a half dozen stores several years
ago with little or no fanfare and only one remains.
Some liked their square scoops of ice cream, I
liked the fact they always had plain hamburgers
ready. I've yet to go to this one.

Cock Robin
8661 Burlington
Brookfield
708-485-7504

That may be the original Cock Robin. They used to make a killer spumoni ice cream.

Dave

It's funny, I remember going when I was a kid to the one on Asbury, just north of Howard. When I moved where I am now, there as one close to here right next to Gene & Judes on River Rd. I never bothered going there. I just made the assumption that it was always there but I guess from your post, it must have opened just before I moved here. And now they've torn it down and I'm kind of depressed that I never bothered.

dashboard diner wrote:call Cock Robin. Apparently the
heirs to the throne took a stab at reopening the
chain with maybe a half dozen stores several years
ago with little or no fanfare and only one remains.

If the others were opened in the same poor location as the Des Plaines location was (not facing a street, way in the back of strip mall, hidden from almost any angle), it is no surprise they did not survive. I never knew the history or else I probably would have stopped in.

They had a decent location in downtown Wheaton, and a great location in Naperville, which closed in the last couple of years. Strangely, I never went to either, not once. What was I thinking?

The one in N'ville was bought by the city for an extension of the Riverwalk.

bringing up an old topic, but I've been working at the last cock robin in brookfield for the past 3 1/2 years, and been manager for 1 year. It is the last one, and i love that place. If anyone has any questions about it, please ask.

As a kid, I loved going to the Cock Robin in Naperville (often as a treat after going to the pediatrician nearby). I still remember their excellent burgers. It really was a cool place and a local institution.

Regrettably, I never ate at the Wheaton CR and just haven't made it out to the Brookfield location (although I probably should). It's always been my understanding that Cock Robin was an old Naperville-based business (started as Prince Castle). I never quite understood why the Naperville location closed, but I believe that the city of Naperville put in the park at the site of the former location (Fredenhagen Park) in memory of the founder of Prince Castle/Cock Robin.

Square scoops?

For many years, there was a Cock Robin in Melrose Park, on Lake St. - at about 13th Avenue. While I haven't been to that location/neighborhood in several years, I think the Cock Robin is still there. I never ordered hamburgers, but did, always, have an ice cream creation - typically a hot fudge sundae.

My favorite treat at CR/PC was the malt/shake they called the "One-In-A-Million". It was so thick that it was difficult to draw up into the straw, and was made with real Ice Cream... no softserve.
As a kid, I watched them make it, and discovered that they used only a splash of milk, so what you got was mostly partially-melted ice cream. I tried the technique in my Mom's blender and was able to make a fairly good malt or shake at home.
You could get a banana malt/shake, where they used a half of a fresh banana... not just banana-flavored syrup. Another one was the 'Double Chocolate' where they'd give you both chocolate ice cream, and chocolate syurp... Double Yum! (not to borrow a quasi-cutesy Check Please expression).
There were stores in Berwyn, on Oak Park Ave... just north of the Burlington RR station; in Riverside, on Harlem and Ogden; and in Downers, on Fairview, among others. The Harlem and Fairview locations became White Fence Farm fried chicken outlets.

=gordon=

Oh, yes... 'forgot to mention... They actually did use ice cream scoops that had a square cross-section. You got scoops that were cubes of not-bad ice cream... in the days before the advent of high-milkfat, 'super premium' brands.

=gordon=

gordon_k wrote:Oh, yes... 'forgot to mention... They actually did use ice cream scoops that had a square cross-section. You got scoops that were cubes of not-bad ice cream... in the days before the advent of high-milkfat, 'super premium' brands.

=gordon=

It was always rumored that the reason there were none within the Chicago city limits was that Chicago had some kind of standard for what could be labeled as ice cream and their product fell short. But it never stopped me or my family from going there often. I remember them being much cheaper than Baskin-Robbins at the time.

As a kid growing up in Skokie in the sixties, we used to go to Prince Castle / Cock Robin all the time. I used to love the fact that the hamburgers, cheeseburgers and double cheese sat appealingly under the heat lamps and greeted you as you walked in. The chocolate silver star soda with vanilla ice cream was a personal favorite. Also great NY cherry and chocolate almond ice cream. Much less expensive and in my opinion, much better then Peacock's located in Wilmette.

There was a Cock Robin on Northwest Highway in Arlington Heights when I was growing up in the late 60s / early 70s. There's an appliance store there now. My favorite thing there was the root beer shake, which tasted oddly like pumpkin pie.

A few years ago (around 1997-1998) a new CR opened in a strip center just a block away from the original location, and then it vanished.

We'll definitely check out the Brookfield Cock Robin.

Thanks for the memory!

Cock Robin was a very important part of my childhood in Downers Grove. It occupied the building on Fairview Avenue near the train tracks that is now home to another Chicago-area institution...White Fence Farm. No, the ice cream wasn't super premium...but the square scoops were unique, the store was cool on a hot day, it was relatively cheap, and in the evening, watching the neon bug-zappers was a summertime tradition.

My friends and I used to ride our bike to Randall Park after school to play tennis and then go to Cock Robin for an early "kids dinner"...I sitll remember getting a burger, fries a soda and then a single scoop of ice cream on a cone...for 95 cents total. Then we'd race the rush hour trains on our bikes along the tracks between Fairview and Cass. Some great childhood memories.

jayman4312 wrote:bringing up an old topic, but I've been working at the last cock robin in brookfield for the past 3 1/2 years, and been manager for 1 year. It is the last one, and i love that place. If anyone has any questions about it, please ask.

My daughter and her husband just moved to Brookfield.They live directly over the fence from Cock Robin.I will have to visit on my next trip there.

Their store in Naperville had somebody who would whip up a bunch of homemade toffee every year around Thanksgiving. It was great. They used to sell it in 1 lb boxes to "good" customers and friends. It went like hotcakes.

jnj3225 wrote:

jayman4312 wrote:bringing up an old topic, but I've been working at the last cock robin in brookfield for the past 3 1/2 years, and been manager for 1 year. It is the last one, and i love that place. If anyone has any questions about it, please ask.

My daughter and her husband just moved to Brookfield.They live directly over the fence from Cock Robin.I will have to visit on my next trip there.

Cock Robin used to close for the winter? Do they still hibernate?

Thanks for reviving this thread. We are very frequent visitors to Brookfield Zoo and are too often found eating there. I'll have to remember to work this in the routine soon, but somehow I keep forgetting. Some smart food maven needs to take charge of the people-feeding at the Zoo; the animals are fed much better and certaintly look more delicious.

-ramon

Alas, Cock Robin, we never knew ye. Since 1931.

Well, today was the first trip of the year to the Brookfield Zoo. I was particularly looking forward to sampling Cock Robin first. I got Brianna psyched with talk of the square ice cream.

Ahh, fate, it was not to be. The last Cock Robin is closed with a “for sale” sign in the window. We could still glimpse ice cream in the freezer but not the particular scoop. “I’ll never know what’s the deal with the square ice cream,” Brianna complained.



We settled for a thoroughly unremarkable meal at the Irish place next door but enjoyed a great day at the zoo. Walking back to the car, at the end of the day, I got to hold Brianna’s (face painted like a lemur) hand longer than traffic safety necessitated. I savored the simple feeling of her small trusting hand in my calloused one and tried to encapsulate the moment. This could be the last time.

-ramon

caribiner23 wrote:There was a Cock Robin on Northwest Highway in Arlington Heights when I was growing up...

caribiner23 wrote:A few years ago (around 1997-1998) a new CR opened in a strip center just a block away from the original location, and then it vanished.

_____Word! Thanks for this post and the A.H. connection. I had no idea there was one in N-ville until I read this, but I'm glad to hear my new home enjoyed C. Robin as well. I will be pursing the new venture and have fond memories of the many post-soccer game parties at the old one.

Zin

It's true.



I read the earlier post and a sadness came over me. Cock Robin has been a family tradition since the 60's and I have watched them close one by one.

First the one in Oak Park on North Ave. just east of Oak Park Ave. then the one on Harlem, River Road, Lake St...

Now the last is gone.

I have a friend that lives nearby and I stopped there maybe 4 times last summer and a few stops over the winter just to make sure the place was OK.

Steam grilled, onions, A double I would eat, layer by juicy layer from the bottom up...

Goodbye old friend...

What, did you think I lied?

Although I understand its tough to accept things we don't want to accept. Today like way too many other people we went back to the zoo. I snuck a peak at Cock Robin, hoping I was delusional. Nope.

So you are not alone in disbelieving my post.

-ramon

Hi,

I don't know if this is welcome news or not: I read at several internet sources the claim Petersen's Ice Cream from Oak Park provided ice cream to the Brookfield Cock Robin. If this is true, then you get the ice cream at least.

Regards,

Mmmm... Cinnamon!

Actually Cock Robin used to make their own ice cream in a factory in Naperville (ahhh. The Naperville Connection) and I think there used to be a store there too.

I remember a year or two ago I was driving in the northern suburbs and spotted the familiar sign. A quick turn and jumped out of the car only to discover it was a coffee and candle shop in Cock Robin disguise.

Grrr.

Steam grilled. Same as White Castle.

Where else can I get my fix?

I wonder what they did with all the square and cone shaped scoops. I'd love a set.

Hi,

If they are not on the premises waiting for a new owner. You may want to check when they may be having their equipment auction.

I just found there is or was a Naperville historian doing a local access cable special tracing the history of Cock Robin. Maybe we should look to this: http://www.positivelynaperville.com/crobin.html

Regards,

I couldn't confirm it 'cause I only saw the handles but I do believe the scoops are on premises.

-ramon

Very sad news about the last Cock Robin closing. My family went there last summer and relived a lot of memories...I was hoping to do the same this summer.

Long live reasonably priced ice cream and the square scoop!

Hi,

Today at the sausage symposium, I met the guy who championed Honey 1 on Check Please! He lives near the Cock Robin in Brookfield. He checked yesterday at my request to find it is open for business presently.

It is my short term goal to have ice cream scooped by a rectangular scoop. Yes, I am easily pleased!

Regards,