Old Herald Brewery & Distillery is opening a custard stand and event space in June

Old Herald Brewery & Distillery will soon open custard stand Uptown Scoops, located in a lot adjacent to the brewery at 115 E. Clay St., Collinsville, Illinois, as part of the launch of its upcoming Herald Square event space. Owner and distiller Derik Reiser is aiming to host a grand opening event during the first weekend of June to correspond with the International Horseradish Festival.

Reiser first began brainstorming the concept for the expansion roughly a year ago. Soon thereafter, in July 2021, he acquired the property – which was previously home to a travel agency – and has been working toward opening ever since.

“[It’s] an extension of [the] Old Herald experience,” Reiser said. “We were trying to create [an] entertainment district here in uptown Collinsville. We want a nice, relaxing, park-like atmosphere.”

Uptown Scoops’ menu will rotate on a weekly basis. Donna Green, owner at Uptown Scoops, anticipates having two or three custard flavors at any given time, although a variety of toppings like hot fudge, caramel and nuts will always be available. In addition, Greene plans to incorporate Old Herald’s alcohol into the custard for specialty flavors like maple-bourbon or limoncello. “We are going to be exploring recipes that would use some of our alcohol,” Reiser said. “[We’ll] probably cook the alcohol out and use it as a flavor base.” The custard shop will also offer fresh-baked cookies, including chocolate chip, sugar, oatmeal-raisin and more.

The opening of Uptown Scoops comes in tandem with the launch of Herald Square, in which Uptown Scoops is located. Herald Square will serve as an outdoor venue for live entertainment and festivals, making use of about 8,000 square feet between a pavilion, stage and viewing space.

“It’ll be like a plaza setting,” Reiser said. “We’ll be able to have everything from tournaments to farmers market. We plan to share it with local nonprofit organizations so they can schedule events and fundraisers.”

Furthermore, a noteworthy component of Uptown Scoops is its building structure: a 10-by-40-foot shipping container. Customers will place their orders at to-go windows in the shipping container, but will eat on either the rooftop deck located directly above or a nearby patio. The 400-square-foot rooftop deck seats up to 20, whereas the patio is 1,200 square feet and seats up to 40. An additional shipping container will have outdoor heated and air-conditioned bathrooms. “It’s a really cool-looking concept,” Reiser said. “It’s going to be very unique [but] inviting and comfortable.”

Uptown Scoops’ hours of operations will be the similar to those of Old Herald: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. However, the custard stand may stay open a bit later on the weekends.

“I’m excited for this to be a community center and a place to go and hang out,” Reiser said. “You can have your ice cream or a pint of beer while you walk around and shop at [an] outdoor market or watch some live entertainment.”

Confirmation for the grand opening date can be found on Old Herald’s social media as the opening nears.