Greenwood ice cream shop reopens after former owner’s arrest
GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — A Greenwood ice cream shop reopened Sunday after its former owner’s arrest.
Mrs. Curl Ice Cream was closed for business after John Cassin’s Friday arrest on charges of possession of child pornography.
Cassin no longer owns Mrs. Curl, according to a statement released Saturday by the shop.
The ice cream shop has been a staple in the Greenwood community for years. People had mixed reactions on the future of the business after hearing about the allegations against Cassin.
Despite the cold and rainy day, people still lined up for ice cream on Sunday.
“It is not so much the ice cream. Around this time, so April 5 nine years ago, me and my husband had our first date. And so that is what is important to us. I do not agree with the owner’s choices and everything that is going on, but to us it is a special place and it is where we had our first date, so I am not going to allow him to take that away from us,” Tara Augustine said Sunday.
Even though business was steady on Sunday, many people commenting on the Cassin’s arrest on WISH-TV’s Facebook page said the allegations were enought to make them satisfy their sweet tooth somewhere else.
“It is unfortunate, obviously very disgusting actions, but it is actions of an individual that are going to be dealt with. You know you can’t really try to punish you know everybody. When you boycott a business everybody gets affected not just the owner,” said Richard Rusch, one of the customers at Mrs. Curl on Sunday.
In a Facebook post that has since been deleted, Mrs. Curl released this statement:
We would like to address the public regarding the recent arrest of John Cassin. We sincerely apologize and acknowledge everyone’s concerns. Our priority is the welfare of our employees and customers. Our employees have expressed that they would like to continue working. Mrs. Curl has transitioned to new ownership as of January 2019 due to John’s age and pending retirement. Due to pending allegations, his partners wish to reopen the business as of Sunday April 14 and keep providing jobs to our employees and great ice cream and food that you’ve grown to love. Effective immediately, Mr. Cassin will be stepping aside from his role at Mrs. Curl.
People on both sides of the conversation have similar hopes for the future of the company.
“Mrs. Curls, obviously the ownership would probably change, considering,” said Rusch. “But it is a staple in Greenwood and I think there is a lot the business does good for the community, you know, even despite the actions of you know, like I said, a single individual.”
News 8 tried to confirm the identities of the new owners of Mrs. Curl or whether they previously shared ownership with Cassin.