The "Coolest" Place in Town

Figure 1

Rosie the Cow, the first thing you see while walking towards Brennan’s Big Chill, greets you happily as you enter the quaint ice cream shop (See Figure 1). A life sized black and white spotted cow, sitting on the sidewalk on the right side of the light beige colored square building, faces you directly, and immediately makes you smile. A large blue sign reading “Brennan’s BIG CHILL” in white font with a double scoop of ice cream to the left of it sits directly in the center of the four sided roof. The exterior appears rather bland looking, not particularly eye catching, and is no match for the interior.

Figure 2

Upon entering the beige building on the corner of an alley on Iron Street, nine white and neutral colored tables total on either side fill the gray tiled floor. As you walk through the room to the ice cream counter, blue and white glowing lanterns drape above it. (See Figure 2). The sweet and crisp air surrounding you begins to prepare you for what will certainly be a chilly dessert. Knick knacks such as polar bear and penguin figurines, igloos, cow stuffed animals, and decorative picture frames fill the white, blue and berry colored walls surrounding the square and round tables. In addition, one wall displays two large windows revealing the street outside. Anyone that walks into the ice cream shop will notice how all of the fun knick knacks and decorations on the shelves fit the arctic theme in the shop. On one wall, covered by frozen blue and white waves and glaciers, sits a chunky grinning penguin, and a larger white polar bear with a large round nose holding an ice cream cone. Filling other walls are a light pink sign reading “Ice Cream Blvd” (See Figure 3), more picture frames of polar bears and cows, and icicle-covered houses. A few dozen rather unique flavors fill the clear glass display cases, as the workers there greet you with a smile and ask what they can get for you. Plastic containers displaying a small portion of the available toppings, decorative flowers, and numbered birthday candles sit on the glass counter. Just above it on the wall behind it lay three rectangular chalkboards with ice cream cone and milkshake borders, covering the back white wall. All of the different desserts, ranging from handmade ice cream, to Italian ice, to Polar Caps and Arctic Chills, and their prices and sizes available fill the board in an array of pastel chalk colors, written in neat, capital letters. To the left of this stands a tall freezer containing the ice cream cakes and pies that Brennan’s has for sale as well.

Figure 3

Once the decision to go the traditional route in buying handmade ice cream becomes clear, flavors ranging from Coffee Kick, to Cold Top, to Creme Brulee, to Strawberry Marshmallow Chocolate Chip begin to overwhelm you with joy as you decide the biggest question of all: “What flavor do I choose today?” A young, chipper and outgoing teenager with mousy brown hair pulled into a loose bun, and sporting a Bloomsburg University sweatshirt, states that she “enjoys how there is such a wide variety of flavors to choose from.” After deciding the almost impossible question of what flavor to choose, paying and sitting down in the lightly cushioned gray seats, you can finally enjoy the treat you’ve been waiting for all day. Around the shop sit handfuls of other happy customers enjoying their ice cream at the other tables in the room. Some people converse about the tastiness of their fresh treat, while others chit chat casually while enjoying the ice cream. Some tables seat a family with young excited children, while another sits an elderly couple simply wanting to enjoy some ice cream on a warm late summer evening.

The owner, Debby Brennan, a petite, genuine and kind-hearted woman wearing a visor covering her lightly fading brown hair, and a red apron, explains that Brennan’s Big Chill is in the midst of celebrating their tenth season. In May, the anniversary was celebrated with a festival on the street, complete with face painting, balloon animals, and free ice cream for all! Although a business in ice cream would be new to them, Debby and her husband and co-owner, Brian, decided to open an ice cream shop in this location because they “love how over 80% of the people in this town are always friendly and kind”, and they love the location in the beautiful town of Bloomsburg. She discusses how they love when children walk in with a wide smile and their small wallets and order their ice cream by themselves. “That’s why we do what we do!” she exclaims. Debby becomes humbled when a group of a dozen hearing impaired girls and boys walk in together to order. She loves making them feel welcome when they walk in. Along with that, Debby explains the qualities she looks for when hiring employees. “One of the biggest things we look for is that our employees have the right attitude, and can get along well with any customer. It is also important that they all get along well with each other, and create a welcoming and familiar environment for anyone that comes into our shop.” Debby continues to discuss that anyone she and her husband believe would become a good asset to the staff begins in training, and earns a new shirt when they become a legitimate staff member.

Each flavor strikes curiosity in customers as they are all so unique. “We receive our ingredients from all different sorts of places, ranging as far as Italy.” Debby smiles and chuckles as she explains the confidentiality of the origin of the ingredients. “I can’t say, and why would I?!” Something that makes Brennan's so special is that Debby's husband hand makes every single flavor, straight from his own recipes. The video down below demonstrates an easy way to create delicious ice cream right at home, somewhat similarly to how ice cream is created in Brennan's kitchen. In the kitchen beyond a hallway located to the right of the ice cream counter, there stands a rectangular metal working station in the center, large freezers, and large machinery used to create the unique frozen desserts. With more than 300 different flavors, each are put out on display in circulation so they stay fresh and customers never get bored with the selection. Every time you go to the Big Chill, Brennan's only displays a fraction of the many flavors that they create, so if you go everyday during the season, you could taste a different flavor each day! A sign of a groundhog named Opey, sporting a red and blue top hat, explains that Brennan’s Big Chill begins their season on Groundhog Day, and a turkey named Cloey holds a sign stating that the season ends by Thanksgiving (See Figure 4).

Figure 4

Speaking of the “Big Chill,” the ice cream shop’s feature dessert is named after the name of the shop. A customer favorite is the Big Chill, complete with eight scoops of ice cream, four toppings, whipped cream and a cherry to top it off! On one wall stands a large poster with pictures and names of every customer who finishes the task of eating a Big Chill by him or herself. One can only dream of accomplishing this fine goal that most likely appears on countless amounts of local customer’s bucket lists.

After a satisfying dessert and a wide smile on your face, you walk out the door as the employees behind the counter shout just loudly enough from across the room for you to hear, “Hope you enjoyed! Have a great day and come again soon!” After the door shuts behind you, Rosie still stands in her spot, the last thing you see when leaving, and you can’t help but smile at the enormous structure of a farm animal. Walking up the small hill with a full stomach appears to be a challenge, even on Iron Street, a small street in the center of Bloomsburg, and home to the “coolest” place in town.