LaScola’s Italian Ice, whose carts are common fixtures at local events and whose packaged ices and custards can be found at several local stores, is opening its first store at 1218 N. Euclid Ave. in Highland Park. Saturday and Sunday, LaScola’s Italian Ice and Custard will be holding a soft opening from noon to 7 p.m. each day. It’ll have a grand opening Friday, after which its regular hours will be noon to 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays.

“We just fell in love with the area,” says Carly LaScola of the South Side, who will be working in the store with her parents, Tish and Tom, who live in Hampton. It was Tom LaScola in 2007 who resurrected the business that his cousin had run for many years. The family business has been part of the Reservoir of Jazz concert series for about a decade, and it’s popular with residents who missed a shaved-ice stand in the park.