Aces of Trades: Gypsy Joe's is an a iconic Lancaster spot for ice cream and more
LANCASTER − In many communities there are some businesses that reach iconic status. It's safe to say Gypsy Joe's Ice Cream has reached that status here.
"My perception of that would be that we've always treated the customer very well," Joe Bellmer said. "We try to give back to the community as much as we can. And I think a lot of people appreciate that we're hard-working dedicated people."
Joe and Beth Bellmer have owned the business or 21 years. They have been at their current location at 2237 W. Fair Ave. in The Shoppes at Fair & Ety for about nine years.
"My background is in the dairy business," Joe Bellmer said. "I'm a fourth-generation dairyman. My brother and I had an ice cream wholesale company in Columbus and Beth had owned her own business, which was housecleaning. A couple years after we met we decided to get into the retail part of ice cream."
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The Bellmers also sell donuts at the ice cream shop. They added them when they moved to the current location.
Joe Bellmer said making and selling donuts is labor intensive. But the Bellmer's have expanded that part of the business to also selling them on a wholesale basis.
"We service every Circle K in central Ohio," Joe Bellmer said. "We service about half of the Speedways. And we're also into Duke & Duchess. So we cover six counties every night with three routes with donuts."
The Bellmers have about 30 employees to help with the workload.
"We were very well received in the beginning with our store and we got the chance to build our brand," Joe Bellmer said. "And that really transitioned well into the donuts. I think the big thing that Beth and I both say is that we've never taken our customers for granted. We've always put them No. 1. We've always strived to listen to what they've wanted and needed and supply it the best we can."
That includes serving ice cream, of course.
"From what I've seen, we offer probably the biggest variety of hard-dipped ice cream still in central Ohio," Joe Bellmer said. "We definitely don't buy any middle-of-the-road ice cream. We only buy high-end 14-percent butter fat and try to get some the most unique flavors we can find."
Those unique flavors include key lime pie, raspberry chip cheesecake, cinnamon, pumpkin and more, including kids' flavors like Play-Doh. While people may think such goodies are mainly summertime treats, that's not so.
"You know what shocks me, we have customers that come in at 7 o'clock in the morning for ice cream, even in the wintertime," Joe Bellmer said.
Away from work, the Bellmers have a 14-year-old son that keeps them busy. The Bellmers are also into physical fitness.
jbarron@gannett.com
740-681-4340
Twitter: @JeffDBarron
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Aces of Trades: Gypsy Joe's owners stress customer service for success
