Alven Allison had a taste for shaved ice, but couldn’t find any place that sold it in Champaign, where he lived. So his wife suggested he make his own.
That led to Allison starting Cool Bliss Hawaiian Shaved Ice, which sold shaved ice from a truck.
But shaved ice is a summer treat, and Allison wanted to be open year-round, so he needed a product for cold weather months.
He chose popcorn because he likes kettle corn.
“17 years later, here’s what we have,” Allison told TSPR.
The business is now called CBPB, which stands for Cool Bliss, Popped Bliss. It has a store in Champaign that also sells specialty sweets, and it will soon be coming to western Illinois.
‘It really feels like home’
Allison and business partner Isis Griffin originally looked at branching out into the Chicago area. But then Allison ran into Macomb Mayor Mike Inman at a convention.
“We got to talking, and he told me all about Macomb, and I was like, I think Macomb fits CBPB’s brand,” he said.
Allison said that brand is about nostalgia, and that everything they do is the old-fashioned way by hand.
He’s been looking at Macomb since June.
“It really feels like home. It may sound like a cliché and kind of weird, but Macomb feels like CBPB,” he said.
The store will also sell bulk candies, ice cream, and more.
He said city staff have worked hard to make the new store happen.
‘Community-centric’
Allison liked the idea of expanding into a small town. He spent part of his childhood in a small town in Kansas and feels there’s a different vibe in small towns, which called “community-centric.”
Now, with the help of a $15,000 revolving loan from the city, CBPB will open a store on Macomb’s courthouse square. The loan will help speed up the process with the hope of opening by Valentine’s Day.
Allison said in the meantime, they’ll have a concession truck in town for Dickens on the Square during the first weekend of December.
“We have plans right now to come back that weekend, set up, and give people a sneak peak of what CBPB has to offer. We’re hoping that we’re a good fit for them and we’re hoping to be welcomed,” he said.
Allison said they also plan to open a wings restaurant in Macomb, separate from CBPB.
Using Macomb as a distribution center
Allison said in-store sales are just part of the CBPB business model.
He said for seven years they’ve been the sole provider of popcorn for University of Illinois events.
Allison said they also ship their products all over the world, especially during holidays, and the Macomb location will help with that.
“The logistics work out excellent for us with Macomb,” he said.
He plans to hire locally, with at least two full-time and four part-time employees in Macomb.
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