Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
The ice cream shop has been in Bodey’s family for decades. She said a guy by the name Frank Jetter opened it for one year before he sold it to her great aunt, Catherine Stevens. There was a fire in 1980 and her family rebuilt it to what it is today.
Bodey’s mom, Bonnie Mantia, started working at the ice cream shop and bought it in the late 1990s. Mantia passed away in 2021 and Bodey has continued the tradition.
“It feels amazing and then knowing that my kids want to come and work here and do the same thing,” Bodey said. “I love it.”
Jet Freeze opened for the season on March 1 and will stay open until the end of October.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
The ice shop offers chocolate, vanilla and strawberry soft serve. Bodey said they make their own strawberry soft serve by mixing together milk, strawberry syrup and strawberry puree. Starting in April, they will add blueberry soft serve to the lineup, which is the same soft serve served at King’s Island.
“When my mom was working here she had machines that were over 35 years old and she wouldn’t get rid of them,” Bodey said. “She just kept repairing them because she thought that’s what made our ice cream different and it did.”
Bodey said after a while she could not find the parts, so she had to get new machines. The machines run just like the old ones did — making their soft serve unique.
Other popular items on the menu include the Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie flurry, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup flurry, shakes and the vanilla/chocolate soft serve in a cone. They also have Dole Whip that is dairy-free.
In addition to ice cream, Jet Freeze has a variety of food. The most popular item are their coney dogs topped with homemade chili.
Bodey thinks Jet Freeze stands out because of it “being a staple in Beavercreek for as long as it has.”
She also noted she has so many employees that go off to college and return to work during the summer because they love the atmosphere and customers.
Something special to Jet Freeze are the pictures of customers hanging on the walls. Bodey’s mom started it in the early 2000s by taking photos of customers with a digital camera. Bodey now encourages customers to tag the ice cream shop on Facebook and Instagram and then she will print them out and add them to the walls.
Jet Freeze is located at 4014 E. Patterson Road. The ice cream shop is currently open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. For more information, visit the shop’s Facebook or Instagram pages.
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