Glen's Frozen Custard production facility to open soon in Lower Burrell; stands reopen Thursday

A new Glen’s Frozen Custard production facility in Lower Burrell soon will be churning out products.

The facility at the location of the former Clementine’s Family Restaurant at 2604 Leechburg Road is set to be operational in a few weeks, said Eli Wilson, Glen’s president and fourth-generation owner.

The building is complete, and Glen’s is waiting for the last bit of equipment to arrive and be installed, Wilson said.

With the new 10,000-square-foot facility, Glen’s will be able to make about 20 to 30 more frozen custard and baked goods products, Wilson said.

Glen’s sells its frozen custards to some local retail stores and restaurants. The new facility will help the business expand the products it sells in stores, Wilson said. It also will enable the products to be sold in stores year-round.

Those additional items, Wilson said, will include cookies, cheesecakes and other desserts. Wilson said the business already has met with representatives from Community Market and the Verona Giant Eagle about putting the new products in stores once the facility is complete.

“Once we get grounded, we’ll reach out to other stores,” he said.

Glen’s supplies its products to about 100 stores, Wilson said, which include local Shop ’n Saves, Community Markets and Giant Eagles. The new facility also will allow Glen’s to make desserts with labels on them.

With the new operation, about 10 additional people will be hired, Wilson said.

Glen’s Custard stands, located in Springdale and Lower Burrell, will reopen for the season today. Glen’s traditionally opens the second Thursday of March and closes the day before Thanksgiving.

“It’s going all right,” Wilson said of preparations for the upcoming season. “You always feel a little rush, but it’s a good rush.”

Glen’s first opened in 1948 in Cheswick and moved to Springdale 11 years later. The Lower Burrell location opened in 2010 and expanded in 2016 to include a small restaurant, GC Grill.

In 2021, crews demolished the old Clementine’s restaurant to make way for the Glen’s facility. The restaurant was vacant for about a dozen years.

Mayor Chris Fabry said Lower Burrell is looking forward to another business operating within the city.

“Lower Burrell is going through a bit of a reinvention,” Fabry said. “As the landscape of retail stores continues to shift, it is important to have alternate growth. Having businesses such as Schaedler Yesco, and now Glen’s, choose Lower Burrell for what aren’t necessarily ‘retail first’ locations is great for Lower Burrell.”

He said Glen’s production facility will be a great asset to the city and continue Lower Burrell’s upward trajectory.

“As other potential new businesses look for locations, they will see what U-Haul did, what Schaedler did and, now, what Glen’s is doing,” Fabry said. “They will see the momentum and community support … that will, hopefully, make those new businesses want to be a part of it and choose Lower Burrell.”