Jay’s Specialty Ice Cream—the name kind of says it all, doesn’t it?
This mobile business can be found all over Fresno serving up its delicious ice cream—including at our Movie in the Park event last month!
I decided to ask chief ice cream creator Janel a few questions about what makes Jay’s Specialty Ice Cream so special.
1. When did your business start?
I started Jay’s Specialty Ice Cream in October of 2013. I found a location to manufacture my ice cream—it is located at 365 W. Bedford #102, Fresno, CA. I was creating new flavors and trying them out on family and friends. Once I knew I had a good product, I let the whole community know by throwing a grand opening to try all the flavors I had created. This took place in January of 2014.
2. What inspired you to start it?
My business started out as a project at Fresno State to complete my class for my major, Bachelors of Administration in Business with an option in Entrepreneurship. My family used to make homemade ice cream for holidays and get-togethers, so I thought it would be a fun thing to research. After doing all the research on running an ice cream business, I thought there was no better time to try and open my own business.
I was also inspired to see my ice cream business through, as I had a professor that told me that this would never work. I would not be able to grow a big enough following to compete with other chain ice cream stores. This was another reason why I wanted to work so hard to prove that Jay’s Specialty Ice Cream could be a success.
3. What do you love about selling your ice cream at community events?
My favorite part of selling my ice cream at all the events we attend is how much people love it! My favorite reactions are when they say, “Wow! This is really good”, “Good job, this is amazing!” or “This is the best ice cream I’ve ever had!” It makes me feel so great to know I have a product that people love and enjoy so much. I also like that at all the events we go to, we switch up the ice cream flavors we bring. It keeps it fun for all our regulars and it makes them keep an eye out for when we have their favorite flavor.
One of my other favorite things about selling our ice cream is that I can tell people that “we are the fastest food truck you will ever eat at.” People are so surprised when we get their items out to them so quickly. Plus we don’t just serve cups and cones, we also do milkshakes, floats, sundaes, and other desserts topped with ice cream.
4. What’s unique about your business?
Jay’s Specialty Ice Cream is unique because we make all the flavors ourselves and use fresh ingredients. I use real fruit and very minimal amounts of food coloring.
A few of my favorite questions are when people ask me if we use real bananas or imitation bananas in our Ba-Nilla-Fer flavor, or why our Mint Chocolate Chip isn’t green. The answers to both questions are we use real bananas and I don’t use food coloring in the Mint Chocolate Chip.
What is also unique about our ice cream is that we make flavors that contain alcohol (less than 5% in a 3 gallon container of ice cream) and some of our flavors have really unique names.
5. Where can people track your whereabouts?
People can find us on Facebook and Instagram. We post our schedule of upcoming events and the flavors we have that night.
People can also call or email us to find out our location or availability: (559) 285-3038 or janel@jaysspecialtyicecream.com.
I love where I live, and I also love what I do. I'm lucky to be able to work in a profession in which I get to build relationships; one that has me meeting new people each and every day and helping them to build new lives in my beloved city. I'm lucky enough to work in a profession in which I can marry cutting-edge technologies and marketing techniques to good, old-fashioned, nose-to-the-grindstone work. I am lucky enough to work in a profession that allows me to work as an advocate for my clients; to use every tool at my disposal to get a job done well for them, and with as little stress and expense as possible.
I love my city. I love my job. One inspires my excellence for the other.
Fresno? I say FresYES
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