Goodbye to Jersey Freeze

[adefonzo]

newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2007/1205/Front_Page/015.html

Look, folks...it was inevitable. The owner of Jersey Freeze was going to close his doors next year no matter what happened. From what I have read in this article, I agree with the boards decision to change the part of the property that is in the Boro. Do I want to see Jersey Freeze go away and an Olive Garden come in to replace it...no...but again, Jersey Freeze is going to close, so what do we do to look forward?

Making this area accessible to commercial interests will give the Boro the ability to allow something to open there that will help contribute to the tax base. I don't like losing Jersey Freeze, but as far as I can see, they Board did what was best for the town.

[adefonzo]

Since we're going to be losing our beloved Jersey Freeze...I figured why not share some good memories of the spot that has served us for so many years...

My fondest memory of Jersey Freeze was on a very, VERY hot summer day after our little league team (the Pirates) won the Championship game. Our coaches (my father, and I want to say Rev Vandebunte, but I could be wrong) took us to Jersey Freeze to celebrate the victory. We were all so excited about the win and the ice cream that it didn't bother us in the least that the ice cream itself was melting all down our hands and arms because it was so [glow=red,2,300]HOT[/glow] outside. Mmmmm mmmmm good...

Favorite item from Jersey Freeze...Root Beer float with vanilla ice cream...oh man...I think I might have to head over there tonight for one!!

[admin]

Like many others I wish the owners of Jersey Freeze the best of luck in their retirement. I will miss that place as many others will.

I certainly will not go to olive Garden if I want italian food. That is like going to Taco Bell for Mexican food. There is no sense when we have better places in town such as Federicis and El Familiar.

At Jersey Freeze I always liked the double brownie thing with chocolate ice dream.

[Libyan Sibyl]

Mark Rosman's editorial. No, sir, I did not indepently think of the same idea that your son proposed, but I am sure it crossed the minds of a few on this board...

In the News
Days are melting away for Freehold landmark
MARK ROSMAN
Our family, like many others in the Freehold area, is trying to come to grips with the news that the Jersey Freeze ice cream stand and restaurant at Route 9 and Manalapan Avenue in Freehold will likely be gone by the end of 2008.

The story of the imminent closing of Jersey Freeze has been well chronicled in these pages over the past few months by staff writer Clare Marie Celano.

Celano has reported that plans are in the works to build an Olive Garden restaurant at the Jersey Freeze site. The Freehold Borough Zoning Board of Adjustment recently voted to let that project move forward.

Jersey Freeze has been a landmark in Freehold since the early 1950s. The ice cream stand started out as a seasonal business, founded by the father of Bruce Blackmore, the present owner. It later became a year-round operation.

Blackmore has owned Jersey Freeze since 1980 and says it has been a sevenday a-week enterprise for him. I believe him. He is the owner, the restaurant has been in his family for 50-plus years and you can tell just by visiting that a great deal of pride goes into the operation of the business.

Blackmore says he wants to retire. He has explained in news stories why he believes financial realities would not make it feasible for anyone else to take over the operation of Jersey Freeze at its present location.

I have been going to Jersey Freeze for years - not as long as some people around here - and I will miss the landmark. There is nothing quite like sitting on the Jersey Freeze patio on a summer night, enjoying the ice cream and watching others do the same.

I am guessing that a lot of people have been trying to think up ways to save Jersey Freeze and keep it right where it has always been. That group would include my 12-year-old son, Nate, who really enjoys the crinkle cut french fries and the chocolate and vanilla swirl ice cream cones.

Nate's idea is simple: He says Bruce Springsteen should buy Jersey Freeze and keep it where it is. Now, you can try to logically explain the realities of retirement and real estate to a 12-year-old, but it won't get you very far.

I have tried taking this tack. It does not work. The kid wants Jersey Freeze to stay where it is and he wants the Freehold-born rocker to buy it.

Go on, admit it. You've thought about that Springsteen idea, too. I'll give you this - it would present quite a picture of the owner-operator flipping burgers and serving ice cream cones.

I have the same feelings of nostalgia for the Carvel ice cream store that used to be on Route 9 north near Gordons Corner Road in Manalapan.

The Carvel was owned and operated by the Reigert family of Manalapan for years and, as I recall it, was the only ice cream store around when my family moved to Manalapan in 1971.

I can fondly recall my dad coming home from work, having dinner and then taking my sister and me to Carvel. I was always partial to a chocolate Flying Saucer or to a chocolate Lollapalooza. Just thinking about those two treats makes me hungry.

In any event, the Reigerts eventually closed the ice cream store, and now it is just a pleasant memory, like many other familiar places that once served this area's families and visitors.

Jersey Freeze appears ready to move from local landmark to the storehouse of my mind in the not-too-distant future.

Unless the Boss is looking for a second career.

Mark Rosman is the managing editor of the News Transcript. Readers may reach him at [e-mail].

[fiberisgoodforyou]

Heres what just crossed my mind....
poor Nate needs to know, the boss could care less about Freehold.

Sure, lets say he'll save this Jersey Landmark CONERIE, while the local schools (not the NYC public schools) go to hell in a handbasket (funding wise). not good press for the man called the boss.

Bring Jeresy Freeze Downtown, and dump ritas. Its starting to look blighted,