By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A local couple has revived a neighborhood ice cream shop with a goal of helping a new generation of families create summertime memories in Rural Oaks.
Stacey and Kevin Knight have opened Cooper’s Corner at 1710 Rural St., which is across the street from Carpenter’s Corner thrift store, the former Hilander grocery.
The storefront was a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop for years before the chain closed the location. It was also a Sugarjones Bakery, Sugarcones Ice Cream and most recently Lessly’s Ice Cream, which had moved into the space in 2019 and closed last year.
“It’s a community thing. It’s bringing back memories for people,” said Stacey Knight. “The adults remember coming to Baskin-Robbins when they were a kid. Now, they can bring their kids or their grandkids to an ice cream shop.”
The Loves Park couple also owns Lydia’s Cafe, a breakfast and lunch diner in the same Rural Oaks Plaza. Stacey Knight started at Lydia’s a dozen years ago as a server. She worked her way up to manager before the couple bought the restaurant from Mike and Terri Hallstrom in August 2022.
The Knights said they heard from customers at Lydia’s how much the corner ice cream store was missed.
“It’s been known in the neighborhood as an ice cream shop for years,” Stacey Knight said. “We wanted to bring something back into the community and the neighborhood that people love.”
The couple completely gutted the storefront to remodel the space with new flooring, walls, freezers, a soft serve machine and other improvements. They credited plaza owners Nancy and Jonathan Whitlock for working with them to take over the space.
“When we started remodeling a lot of people in the neighborhood were walking by with their dogs, looking in the windows and peeking in the door,” Kevin Knight said. “We had the chance to talk to a lot of people, they’re so excited we kept it as an ice cream shop.”
Cooper’s Corner, which is named for the couple’s English black labrador, has 12 flavors of hard scoop ice cream and a soft serve machine with chocolate, vanilla and swirl. There are also sugar free and dairy free options.
They also have malts and shakes, banana splits, hot fudge sundaes, waffle cones, cake cones and a variety of toppings for your ice cream. Starting Saturday, they’re adding acai bowls with toppings of fresh fruit and nuts.
Don’t want to eat your ice cream out of a cone or bowl? You can fill your Stanley stainless steel mug, or similar brand, with soft or hard scoop ice cream. Cooper’s Corner calls the deal Stuff Your Stanley. It’s $12 for hard scoop ice cream or $10 for soft serve.
“It stays cold in the Stanley, that’s what’s cool about it. You can walk home with it in the neighborhood,” Kevin Knight said. “It’s a great way to transport from here to home.”
There is also cold brew coffee, ice tea, lemonade and dirty soda, which is a mix of soda, cream and flavored syrup. Cooper’s also sells honey straws from Patz Maple & Honey Farms in Wisconsin.
All seasons
In the future, the Knights plan to add Pronto Pups, which is a corn dog made with waffle batter made popular in Michigan.
“There’s a line from here to the intersection all day long at that place,” Kevin Knight said of Pronto Pups in Michigan.
When the weather turns colder, they plan to offer soups more fitting for winter. The ability to use Lydia’s as a commercial kitchen helps them make that transition.
They may also add a small cooler to the shop and pack it with small grocery items such as milk and eggs, something they think will serve the neighborhood well after the closure of Schnucks in 2014.
“If someone wants to come down and get two eggs or five pieces of bacon. We thought about doing breakfast bags, where you bring it home and cook your own breakfast,” Kevin Knight said.
The shop has little touches of nostalgia in it, including a black-and-white photo of Kevin Knight’s father eating an ice cream sundae at the old Last Straw ice cream parlor, which operated on South Alpine Road and is now Villa Di Roma.
There’s also an antique 1927 Atwater radio that serves as the stand for customers to pay for their ice cream.
Cooper’s Corner started with a soft opening on June 17, and almost immediately saw foot traffic from residents in the neighborhood.
“It’s still just a very walkable neighborhood,” Stacey Knight said. “There’s not too many neighborhoods in Rockford where you can walk and get to something. … Here you can actually walk and get somewhere and get a treat.”
Cooper’s Corner | hours & location
Where: 1710 Rural St., suite 1, Rockford
Hours: 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday
Phone: 815-721-2387
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
