Jordan Beck | Daily Press Jim’s Dari-Kreme Manager Trevor Sebeck stands next to “Brittany,” a mannequin on display in the ice cream shop, and a blocked-off bench Friday. The shop reopened for business — with some restrictions — recently.

ESCANABA — Local ice cream shop Jim’s Dari-Kreme was able to reopen for business — with some restrictions — last week.

According to Manager Trevor Sebeck, the shop opened for the season in February. However, on March 16, a post made to its Facebook page announced it would be making some changes in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“They decided to stay open just as a quick-service takeout (facility),” Sebeck said.

The plan to stay open for takeout was put on hold later that month — on March 24, Jim’s temporarily closed its doors. Sebeck said that this had a financial impact on the business.

“It did have an effect, being open and then re-closing. It was hard for everybody,” he said.

However, the impact was partially offset by the fact that the shop would not have normally experienced peak demand at this point in the season.

“If this would’ve been a July-August thing … it would’ve been really hard to recuperate from this,” Sebeck said of the lockdown.

As business at Jim’s is partially dependent on weather, the relatively wet, gloomy conditions seen in the area in April would have likely made for slow sales at the shop, anyway.

“It was kind of more of a fall-type atmosphere,” Sebeck said.

Jim’s resumed business with a soft opening on Friday, May 1. As of Friday, it planned to stay open from noon to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

As social distancing measures are still in place, the shop is only permitting three people to be in its lobby at the same time. The lobby is being sanitized with heavy-duty cleaners on a regular basis, and its indoor benches are not in use. Additionally, a Plexiglas shield has been set up in front of the shop’s counter.

People waiting in line or eating ice cream outside Jim’s are asked to stay six feet apart at all times. The shop is allowing customers to call in their orders for curbside pick-up, as well.

The majority of normal menu items at Jim’s are available at this time.

“There’s still a few things that are off the menu just for the time being,” Sebeck said.

Affected items include the shop’s lavor of the week, Flavor Burst and a few shake flavors. Sebeck said these items will likely return to the menu over the next few weeks.

“We need a bit to see how business goes,” he said.

Sebeck voiced his appreciation to people in the area for visiting Jim’s Dari-Kreme for 62 years.

“Thank you for the continuous support,” he said.

For more information, including any operational updates, find “Jim’s Dari-Kreme” on Facebook.