Cold Stone Creamery in Downtown Naperville permanently closed its doors on Sept. 29 after 20 years of operations. Owners Jay and Linda Querrey were out-bidded while trying to renew their lease.

It’s not yet known what will replace the creamery. The closure came as a shock to the employees, including sophomore Martin Dkhillon.

“Everyone thought it was going [well], but then all of a sudden they just [sent] an email, ‘we’re closing in five days,’” Dkhillon said. “I heard some rumors that back in the summer, they were trying to sell more and [didn’t] really care that much about the reputation of the place. That’s [when] I suspected that they might be planning to close soon.”

While conducting business, the owners always kept a very professional relationship with their employees, according to former shift manager Finn Bleuher, a junior. However, he says it was clear that they were disappointed in the closure.

“I think they were sad just because they’ve been open for 20 years. It kind of sucks that they just got bought out by another person who had more money.” Bleuher said. “They told most of the managers before that they might close because of the landlord a week before they told everyone.”

According to Dkhillon, Cold Stone Creamery was a neighborhood favorite, along with Jeni’s, Kilwins and Ben & Jerry’s.

Most of the employees are high school students, with a plurality coming from Naperville Central. Some are hoping to go back to work as soon as they can.

“I might look for another job, but it’s not that urgent to me,” Dkhillon said. “I might just wait a little bit and see if [there are] any other good options.”