The Big Chill Experience 

Store front of Brennan's 

     Have you ever walked down Iron Street, Bloomsburg, and glanced down an ally to be confronted by the sight of a cow? That's Rosie. She stands tall outside Brennan's Big Chill ice cream shop, opened in 2004, to let you know that the store is open. The shop has the inviting appearance of a small, cream colored cottage with a Dutch barn roof. Going through the white, glass-panned front door, you enter a clean, fresh, and cool space with neat, white tables and chairs and refrigerated display of delicious, mouth watering ice cream and tempting ice cream cakes. A jolly penguin decal on the wall makes you smile like a kid in a candy store.

Inside the ice cream shop

     At the spotless, glass-fronted counter, the choice of flavors is overwhelming; forty-two different options of "hand-made excitement". The owner reports that he cannot identify a "most popular" flavor as he rotates through all the flavors on a daily basis throughout his nine-month season from February to November. This extended season is a result of having located in a "vibrant" college town. 

This is Rosie the cow that sits out-front

    The owners, Debbie and Brian Brennan, northern New Jersey natives, chose Bloomsburg for their store because of the town's vibrancy. The presence of the college boosts their sales during the normal "off season". When I ask, " How does the college impact the business, apart from providing customers?", the owner replies, "Seventy percent of our employees are college students". She adds that many of her customers are "travelers" and families that use social media, especially Google, to find them. Many customers hear about an unusual promotion offered by the store. 

      The "Big Chill" challenge won a national award for Promotion of the Year in 2007. It started when a regular menu-item, shareable sundae, eight scoops of ice cream, four toppings, whipped cream and cherries, was ordered by a family. As Debbie recounts, "The four-year old daughter of the family refused to share and ate the whole thing!" To mark the occasion, they tool a picture and gave the girl a store T-shirt. The "Big Chill" challenge sets Brennan's apart from its competitors, although other ice cream store have copied Brennan's promotional idea. 

     Visiting Brennan's Big Chill ice cream store is really "cool" experience, from the huge variety of flavors, served uniquely every day, to the long season and the friendly owners. Take the "Big Chill" challenge and see if you can win a T-shirt and your photograph on the wall!