Carousel patrons experience last ‘licking’

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    By ELI CARPENTER

    Ice cream lovers in Provo may have suffered a serious blow now that Carousel Ice Cream Parlor has closed down.

    According to a sign on the front door of the parlor, Carousel is under the jurisdiction of the Utah Bankruptcy Court and is “closed until further notice.”

    Operations at Carousel have been suspended for financial problems, among other things, said Beverly Brown, owner of the Piccadilly Petaler flower shop next door to Carousel.

    “The biggest problem that they had was a substantial increase in the lease payments. Their payments went way up back in January, and it turned out to be too much,” Brown said.

    Brown also attributed Carousel’s quietly going out of business to other factors.

    “Too many things added up to hurt them,” Brown said. “Provo is oversaturated with restaurants. Too many new places were going up around them that helped to take away from their daytime clientele.”

    Attempts to reach management or the owner of Carousel were unsuccessful.

    Brown also said she hoped the store would be kept as an ice cream parlor, but that it isn’t likely to happen.

    Carousel’s sudden closure was a shock to both employees and patrons of the establishment; the parlor shut down overnight.

    Spencer Rogers, 21, a sophomore from Alpine majoring in English, didn’t even get the opportunity to train in his new position. Rogers was hired by Carousel May 18 but was told he would have to find work elsewhere when he showed up for training two days later.

    “They told me that there were too many problems happening at once,” Rogers said. “I asked if they would need me to come back later, but they said they probably wouldn’t be opening again.”

    Amber Durland, a Carousel employee from February 1997 until January 1998, remembered it as a fun place to work and said owner Lynn Mecham was a nice guy.

    “I enjoyed it because I liked the people who worked there,” Durland said. “The owner (Mecham) is a jokester. He’s a really fun person to be with.”

    The restaurant, which also was known for its pizza, was a favorite of many BYU students who now will be forced to find somewhere else to hang out.

    Gregory Dibb, 23, a senior from Atlanta majoring in manufacturing engineering, regrets that he can no longer take dates out for Carousel’s famous ice cream.

    “It was the best place in town for ice cream,” Dibb said. “Now I’ll have to find some other place to take all my girlfriends.”

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