Kokomo native opening Glover's Pizza and Ice Cream restaurant
Jul. 6—Who doesn't like pizza and ice cream?
Bryan Helm is hoping to bank on people's love affairs with both of those foods in opening Glover's Pizza and Ice Cream.
After buying Frankfort's longtime family-owned Glover's Ice Cream in January 2020, he's decided to bring the cold treat and "high-end" pizza to Kokomo and, hopefully in the future, other locations across central Indiana.
Glover's Pizza and Ice Cream is planning on opening its first location in Kokomo this weekend at 4005 S. Webster Street in the Webster Plaza.
The restaurant will serve Glover's well-known ice cream, as well as pizza, sandwiches, Blondie's cookies, B&K hot dogs, cheeseburgers, coffee and more.
Helm, who also owns Mac's Express, told the Tribune the restaurant will be using cheese from Wisconsin-based company Grande and pepperoni from Columbus' Ezzo Sausage Co. Helm believes those high-quality ingredients will differentiate Glover's pizza from others in town.
"We've selected ingredients that we believe are top of the line," he said. "We're spending more money on the pizza pie so that we give somebody a much better and richer flavor."
Two dozen ice cream flavors will be offered at Glover's Pizza and Ice Cream. The company makes a total of 35 flavors so flavors will be rotated in and out. Being vertically integrated will also allow the company to make changes or ramp up production as needed. Since taking over the company, Helm has already made a change to the ice cream by increasing the amount of special ingredients, such as strawberries, chocolate chips, etc., due to customer feedback.
"All of it will be made locally, right here in central Indiana, and we're going to bring that to the people at a better price than what you can get somewhere else," Helm said.
Helm was approached in 2019 by economic development officials in Clinton County about purchasing the ice cream factory. The company's previous owner, Steve Glover, was looking to retire. Started in 1925 by Foster Glover, the company has remained in the Glover family until Helm took over and is the state's oldest ice cream manufacturer.
Helm soon realized the factory was only producing ice cream one day a week, signaling to him that there was room to grow production and the company.
Traditionally, Glover's sold its ice cream in tubs for retail stores and for wholesale clients, such as universities, hospitals and convenience stores, so people may have been eating Glover's ice cream but didn't know it.
But now, Helm's plans are to grow the Glover's brand and get it in front of more eyes.
Even before the first Glover's Pizza and Ice Cream has opened, Helm said he's eyeing opening a second location in Kokomo and a location in Westfield. Ultimately, he would like to open five to 10 locations across central Indiana over the next five years.
Being a Kokomo native, though, Helm saw the City of Firsts as the perfect place to begin.
"At the end of the day, Kokomo is home and we want to do things to help Kokomo grow, and this is one way we can do it," he said.
Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich
