Jeremiah’s Italian Ice to Add 4 Volusia Locations

The dessert shops will open fall 2020 in Ormond Beach and DeLand, and two more are planned for Port Orange and New Smyrna Beach

The fast-growing Jeremiah’s Italian Ice franchise has four locations planned for Volusia County, with two set to open this fall.

Jeremiah’s locations are set to open in DeLand and Ormond Beach this fall, and two more are planned for New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange. The brightly decorated dessert shops are known for their signature dessert, gelati, with layers of Italian ice and soft serve ice cream stacked in a cup. There are 40 flavors of Italian ice to choose from, plus classic soft serve ice cream.

Hayden Boyd, who formerly worked for Spectra Food and Beverage in Orlando, is co-franchisee for Jeremiah’s locations in Ormond Beach, Port Orange and New Smyrna Beach, along with father-son duo Glenn and Brian Repple.

The Ormond Beach location at 162 S. Nova Road is currently undergoing renovations and is in the permitting phase, Boyd said. The building near the Granada Boulevard-Nova Road intersection is the former home of a Little Caesars Pizza.

“The whole site will look like a brand new building. It’ll have some nice structural changes, vibrant paint schemes, and we’ll just make a nice, cool place where you can come hang out with your family and friends,” Boyd said. “It’ll be the only Jeremiah’s with both a dining room, walk up window and a drive-thru, and with an outside patio. That’s very specific to us, so I think that’s very cool.”

Boyd said he hasn’t yet found a spot for the New Smyrna Beach or Port Orange locations. The new restaurants will join a Jeremiah’s currently located at One Daytona in Daytona Beach since January 2018, to make five locations total in Volusia County.

Boyd said he originally planned to open in Ormond Beach in June, but coronavirus delayed plans.

Chris Bartholet is the franchisee for the DeLand location and formerly worked in insurance for 35 years. That store had also planned a June opening, but that’s been delayed until the fall.

“The opening date has been creeping from June, to July, and to August, and now we’re into September, so I’m just going to give it a vague opening date of sometime this fall,” Bartholet said.

The DeLand location will have a dining room and a service window inside the building. A common patio area adjacent to Jeremiah’s, shared with other tenants, will have picnic tables seating roughly 25 people. It will be located at 2369 S. Woodland Blvd. in the Country Club Corners Shopping Center, anchored by a Publix at the busy intersection of Orange Camp Road and South Woodland Boulevard.

Bartholet said he’s optimistic the high traffic area will bring steady business for his location.

“With this plaza, it’ definitely a family area of DeLand. There’s lots of new developments, and the prime age for young families, so I think it will be a really good location for it,” Bartholet said. “I searched for drive-thru opportunities in DeLand and couldn’t find it, so that’s the only box I couldn’t check with this location.”

Bartholet said he’s seen high interest from the community on his Jeremiah’s Facebook page for DeLand.

“There’s been really good reception from DeLand residents,” he said. “It seems like people are really excited to have their own Jeremiah’s. There’s definitely high brand recognition in Central Florida. People have been going to Lake Mary and other places to go to a Jeremiah’s.”

Both Boyd and Bartholet said the “atmosphere” and “environment” they enjoyed as customers of Jeremiah’s inspired them to consider opening their own franchises.

“It brings back childhood memories. They have really awesome gelatis, Italian ice of course, and great flavors, it’s rich. It’s just a great environment, the music we play in there will make for a nice atmosphere and just a cool place to hang out with friends,” Boyd said.

Boyd said they plan to not only “bring everyone together” in a “fun, safe space,” but to partner with local charities and make community partnerships in Ormond Beach.

“Our mindset is that of a small business, mom and pop, and to partner with the school system to host events. A percentage of our sales will go back into schools at sporting events,” he said. “We’re looking at local nonprofits right now to partner with and to focus on local communities that are in need.”

Jeremiah’s first location opened in Winter Park in 1996, and it’s still based in Orlando. Since opening to franchises in 2020, locations have popped up throughout Florida and as far away as Arizona and Texas. More are planned for elsewhere in Florida, plus Georgia and Alabama.

Source: https://www.news-journalonline.com/news/20200710/jeremiahrsquos-italian-ice-to-add-4-volusia-locations