Little Jimmy’s Italian Ices

January 18, 2016 by

We originally saw Little Jimmy’s Italian Ices in 2010 in Small Business Opportunities Magazine. We made some calls and did the ‘homework’ for starting the business, but due to other circumstances let the opportunity pass. We both had our regular jobs and continued on. In June of 2013, we were both working for the same company and both lost our jobs at the same time. They way that our jobs were eliminated did not even allow us to collect unemployment.

Ed had a life insurance policy that we decided to cash in, in order to buy our Little Jimmy’s Italian Ice cart. Since we were a long way from the east coast where Italian Ice is very well known, we ordered a single 3-gallon can of Lemon Ice. First, we wanted to sample it to see that it was authentic and second to try it out at a couple large community gatherings. IT WAS A HIT!

We sent our money in to place our initial order and received our cart and supplies within a week, and the ice came a few days later. This business has become so successful that it allowed us to pay our bills and keep ourselves going without a regular 9-5 job. It is a seasonal business because of the cold weather and lack of events in our area. We are however booked into a big Christmas Expo which will be held indoors.

This business has allowed us to keep the household running and help our children when needed. We are looking to get another Little Jimmy’s cart and are even expanding into other types of food that we can sell all year long. This fact is ironic as my husband had mentioned several times (even years ago back in NJ) that we should start some type of food business and I always said no because of too many regulations and health codes. It seems that Italian Ice is pretty much exempt from a lot of the strict health codes in many areas, so it’s the best of both worlds, said Ed.

Karen and Ed Hensas
Idaho
November 2015

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Hi Mike and Nancy

January 18, 2016 by

Just to let you know we got the ice and we love it. We participated in The Junkanoo summer festival on weekends for the last three weeks and it was a success. The tourist loved it and many of them were amazed that Little Jimmy’s was in The Bahamas. Plenty of them took photos

To wrap it up we were the show stopper as we beat the competition.

I have a question for you.

What flavor can I add rum to and how should it be done?

look forward to our continued business relationship.

Once again thank you.
Dion
Nassau, Bahamas
May 2015

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Nine Year Old Italian Ice Owner Interview- Jack Frost Italian Ices

August 8, 2013 by

9 Year old Businessman Jack of Jack Frost Italian Ices stopped by the Little Jimmy’s headquarters in Elizabeth, NJ with his dad and uncle today.

Bringing smiles back to Athens, one scoop at a time.

That’s the business plan of eight-year-old Jack Henry Barrett, who opened up an Italian ice cart in Teaoga Square in Athens Borough last week with the help of his father, Ed Barrett Jr.

Jack Frost Ice, which features Little Jimmy’s Italian ice products, came about after the Barretts – including Jack’s mother Deanna, who owns the nearby Urban Connection salon – wanted to find another way to bring people back to the recovering business district hit hard by flooding in September. It seems to be working, Ed Barrett said.

“So far, it’s been a great response,” he said, adding that the business already has “a lot of repeat customers in such a short time” since the stand opened for business last Wednesday.

Jack “has been a businessman since he could count change,” Barrett said. With the help of his father, family friend Mary Johnston and other adults, Jack scoops the ice, stocks supplies and keeps the stand clean.

The Barretts decided to purchase a Little Jimmy’s pushcart cart because of its low overhead and to fill a need left open this summer with the fate of nearby D and R Ice Cream in question after the flood, Barrett said. The Athens borough council granted the Barretts permission to serve the frozen treats in the square last week.

https://italianice.net/

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/athens-boy-opens-italian-ice-stand-1.1332227

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Never Did See One Kite in the Air

June 4, 2013 by
Kite Festival Italian Ices

Kite Festival Italian Ices

Italian Ice Testimonial Received Sun, Jun 2, 2013 at 10:54 AM

Just wanted to share a look into our first $1,500 day. It was a Kite
Festival held here in Reno annually. Their 4th, our 1st.

Turnout last year was about 3,500 but don’t have the numbers for this
year yet. It was about 80 degrees that day and I brought 350 bottles of
water as well, but due to line like shown in the picture, I didn’t even have
time to get them out of the van. Next to us was CocaCola with 240 btls
of water and they sold out by 2 pm.

The line shown in the pic was indicative of my non stop serving from 10:15
(for a 11 am start) until 3:50 when I finally stood up straight. Never did see
one kite in the air.

Last year we booked 11 events and this year we have 64 lined up through
October 15th.

Love Little Jimmy’s Italian Ices.

James Hinkle

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Italian Ice Sightings and Quotes

April 30, 2013 by

1)  Saw one of your carts Friday at food truck park in the ATL on Howell Mill

little jimmys italian ice

italian ice at mall

2) I am doing a Fund Raising event for my credit union-walk for hunger- may 4th!  My 1st!

Wish me luck!!!
Thanks again for all your help!!!!

from Maine

3)  Thank You Dennis,  I have just booked 3 major events here in Atlanta.

and I also have booked the 28th Annual…Sweet Auburn Spring Festival.
So Yes, I am on a roll. My goal is to have an event Every Weekend. I currently have a spot everyday at the Atlanta Food Truck Park! There is a Face Book Page & a website for the Atlanta Food Truck Park that you can look at.
Now with 3 carts, 2 go to major events & the 1 goes to the Food Truck Park every day.
Thank You for the suggestions. Please keep them coming!

4)  Hey Dennis,
I definitely think this is something I can do, especially since the weather is warming up making it easier for more people to be outside/summer events forming up. I am a Dance Teacher at an elementary school and was looking for a summer entreprenuering job to make some good money. I think I might have found it!!
Mya

 

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Canada Loves Italian Ice

August 28, 2012 by

Hi Dennis

Hello from Canada.  We finally got started after jumping through many hoops to get licensed in Calgary. We are operating in the downtown core in an area called Stephen Avenue Mall -an outside location.  I thought you might want to read a review that was written about us.

Although we have only been operating for a very short time my wife and I have

Canada Loves Italian Ice

Canada Loves Italian Ice

totally enjoyed all aspects of this business.  Your product has been well received with many compliments and the phrase used most often is “very refreshing”.

Children and tourists love getting their pictures taken with their blue and red tongues – its really quite funny to watch.

The cart is amazing and after a full day out in the hot sun we still come back with frozen ice.

See the link below:

www.getdown.ca/2012/08/13/little-jimmys-italian-ice

Full Article here:

While watching the final hours of the London Summer Olympics on Stephen Ave,  I was able to enjoy a somewhat international treat I had only heard about before and is now available on Stephen Avenue.

While I have had all manner of Popsicles, sno-cones, sorbets, gelatos, and ice
creams, I had never in my 26 years had an Italian ice. Described as being half way between gelato and a sno-cone, Italian ice is a staple of the summertime in cities like New York and New jersey, where a historically dense Italian population gave rise to the treat. Sold either from trucks or push-cart,
the treat has a long history of delighting children on boardwalks, playground, and sporting events.

In addition to being the top frozen treat on the eastern seaboard, Italian Ices have the fortunate distinction of being free of dairy, fat, cholesterol and high fructose corn syrup. That’s right, for those who are sensitive to dairy, or are watching their cholesterol can rest a littler easier knowing that there is a delicious way to beat that heat, that won’t set your stomach in to a tizzy.

The ices come in several flavours including Cherry, Lemon, Blue Raspberry and Green Apple and tou should be able to spot anyone who’s tried these delicious treats on Stephen Avenue by their distinctively brightly coloured tongues like our hosts Victoria and Nicola shown above.

Keep an eye out for Little Jimmy’s Italian Ice on Stephen Avenue (8th ave
between Olympic Plaza and 3rd street SW) for the rest of the summer!

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NBC News: 8 Year Old Businessman

July 18, 2012 by

Athens, Pa. – An eight-year-old boy is bringing business back to Athens after the flood, by running his own Italian ice stand (see story below)

Athens, Pa. –  An eight-year-old boy is bringing business back to Athens after the flood—by running his own Italian ice stand.The September flooding knocked out dozens of businesses in Athens. One of them was an ice cream shop in Teaoga Square Park. So Jack Henry Barrett, 8, brought an Italian ice stand in to replace it.

Jack is the official owner of Jack Frost Ice, featuring Little Jimmy’s Italian Ice. He works there with his dutiful employees, his parents. The stand features four flavors that change daily. Customers in the square for a concert Thursday night say Jack is a sign of new life in Athens.

“We just want to bring smiles back to Athens,” said Barrett. “Because people like to come down here and have some ice cream, but they can’t have that now. So we brought something new here.”

“We’ve lost, we had some hardship, but we have 34 businesses back and running,” said Ed Barrett, Jack’s father. “Jack is number 34 and it’s just a great idea.”

The Barrett family purchased the Little Jimmy’s stand and got approval from Athens Borough, which owns the park. Jack opened his stand two weeks ago, and his dad says he’s already inspired some other local kids to start their own businesses and help Athens recover.

http://www.wetmtv.com/news/local/story/Eight-Year-Old-Brings-Business-to-Athens/TYUuD5gnyk6970TRkRY2HA.cspx

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Holiday Business Activity

July 16, 2012 by

4th of July has been crazy for most of our vendors- we had a video sent over that I edited down and stuck some music in and a whole bunch of testimonials from customers that had events on the 4th of July. Here is the video:

We still have around a dozen carts left for this season. Let us know if you would like one or two of them- you still have the rest of July, August, September and October remaining in the Italian Ice season for 2012.

Here are the testimonials from this past 4th of July:

#1:  We were able to set up shop in less than 15 min to include the sink, tables and our helmet displays. We started off pretty good foot traffic was decent the free samples were key for us, once people got a taste we had folks coming back. I’m sure we had a little buzz going around for “Little Jimmy’s Italian Ice”. Unfortunately Monsoon season decided it wanted to dump rain on us and we had to endure 2 or three sets of good downpours. Even with the horrific weather we came out ahead we had smiling children and get this….we had a visit from a LONG time Eegees customer come by and ask to try some ice, since her grandchildren told her our Ice was MUCH better than Eegees. She first tried a sample and then fully converted and  ordered an ice for herself and told us her grand kids were RIGHT! I would have to say that was a highlight of the day and kept us going throughout the rain.
monsoon "italian ice"

Our feeling is, if we can be ahead during Monsoon rains, we just can’t wait for a sunny event.

Thank you for the support,

John and Sandra
Paradise Ice

 

 

#2: Hello Dennis, Things are going well we were actually working an event on the 4th. It was a good day, we averaged about $100 per hour.  Thanks for touch base!

Allen

#3:  We had our best day ever yesterday at the downtown celebration. We were lucky enough to be one of only a few vendors since this is the first time in several years our town has planned an event for the fourth but the crowds were huge and the event was well done. My husband tried to record video of our lines for the discount on our next order but he only got a few minutes because we needed everyone scooping and taking money. We ended up replacing at least 4 full tubs of ice from our two carts. Our hands are sore from scooping but it was all worth it and now even more Midlanders know about Italian Ice!! Thanks for everything! This has been such a wonderful business for us.

No, we’re actually leaving for California on Friday for Nationals in gymnastics that my daughter qualified for. When we get back we have been given permission to sell at twice a week at the Odessa Little League games which tie in perfectly with the helmets and we have a couple of trade shows and festivals lined up this month. By the way, one of the local television stations at the Fourth of July celebration gave us a small plug on air after we gave the anchors and their crew free ice and let me post a picture of them eating ice on my Facebook page. They came and talked to us after and asked us to let them know what events we will be at so they can cover them. That was kinda neat.

Bernadette & Todd Snodgrass

#4: (This is the Video Above) Unfortunately we were too busy scooping ices to watch the fireworks ;) We had an amazing day!! My daughter videoed us for about 15-20 min with long lines and no breaks.  When we can get it transferred from her phone to the computer we will  send it to you.

Hope to hear from you soon and hope you enjoyed your 4th.

Scooping all over PA,

Diana Paluch

#5:  We love selling the ice. The ice pushed our sales up to the 500 mark AGAIN for the 4th! Thank you! We should be ordering more later this year. Can’t wait.

Kimberly

#6: Hi Anthony- I’ve been finishing up some projects at work and getting ready for the spring events to start. I still have about 20 tubs left and have some events planned at the end of the month. Last year was a good time and I have been asked back to several events already this year. I’m now working with my Family which has a 501C3 business (http://www.marylandindiantourism.org/exhibits.php)since we recently became the first and only Native American Tribe to be recognized by the state of Maryland on January 9th, 2012 by Governor Martin O’Malley. This has created a great opportunity for my family and the tribe.

Thank you for keeping in touch and I hope you and the family are doing well. I’ll be in touch soon I’m sure to purchase more ice.

Regards,

Jay Newman

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Detroit Family Business

June 23, 2012 by

https://italianice.net/contactform.htm The Smiths from Detroit, Michigan visited us today to get their Italian Ice pushcart and Ices- they drove 10 hours last night to visit us today on Saturday- yes we are open on Saturdays even Sundays- weekends till 1PM. Little Jimmy’s italian Ice 800 763 4348

The whole family is getting into business together. Great family business.

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Italian Ice 8 Year Old Entrepreneur

June 20, 2012 by

Athens boy opens Italian ice stand

By Amanda Renko (Staff Writer)
Published: June 20, 2012 – From http://thetimes-tribune.com/

Bringing smiles back to Athens, one scoop at a time.

italian ice 8 year old businessman

italian ice entrepreneur

That’s the business plan of eight-year-old Jack Henry Barrett, who opened up an Italian ice cart in Teaoga Square in Athens Borough last week with the help of his father, Ed Barrett Jr.

Jack Frost Ice, which features Little Jimmy’s Italian ice products, came about after the Barretts – including Jack’s mother Deanna, who owns the nearby Urban Connection salon – wanted to find another way to bring people back to the recovering business district hit hard by flooding in September. It seems to be working, Ed Barrett said.

“So far, it’s been a great response,” he said, adding that the business already has “a lot of repeat customers in such a short time” since the stand opened for business last Wednesday.

Jack “has been a businessman since he could count change,” Barrett said. With the help of his father, family friend Mary Johnston and other adults, Jack scoops the ice, stocks supplies and keeps the stand clean.

The Barretts decided to purchase a Little Jimmy’s italian ice cart because of its low overhead and to fill a need left open this summer with the fate of nearby D and R Ice Cream in question after the flood, Barrett said. The Athens borough council granted the Barretts permission to serve the frozen treats in the square last week.

The stand will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, weather permitting, Barrett said. The Barretts plan to serve ice during the square’s special events, including the borough’s special concert series. The cart may also travel to other locations, such as the farmer’s market held on Fridays in Howard Elmer Park in Sayre, Barrett said.

The cart can hold four flavors at a time, Barrett said, with the varieties changing daily. The stand also sells a selection of miniature Major League Baseball team helmets that can be refilled with ice throughout the season at a discount, he said.

Flavors range from the traditional – blueberry, cherry, chocolate – to fruit flavors, bubble gum and root beer.

“There’s a flavor for everyone,” Barrett said.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/athens-boy-opens-italian-ice-stand-1.1332227

Here’s the video of Jack also!

Review Photo/Amanda Renko Jack Henry Barrett, 8, is operating Jack Frost Ice in Athens’ Teaoga Square with the help of his father, Ed Barrett Jr.

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