Yardley Ice House Partners With AOY To Celebrate 30th Season

YARDLEY BOROUGH, PA — The Yardley Ice House on Saturday celebrated its 30th season by unveiling a commemorative t-shirt and designating a portion of the day’s proceeds to the Artists of Yardley (AOY), a non-profit that fosters creativity in the community.

The t-shirt, designed by AOY member Yvonne Reyes, will be available for sale while supplies last at the ice house on South Main Street (in the parking lot behind Mil-Lee’s Diner).

Reyes submitted the winning design in a contest organized by the AOY and coordinated by board member Grant Cohen.

Cohen, who grew up in Yardley, made countless trips to the store for his go-to order - soft vanilla chocolate twist with rainbow sprinkles. He joined State Rep. Perry Warren in congratulating Reyes and acknowledging AOY’s partnership with the ice house.

Warren, whose office was located within walking distance of the store for six years, said he’d often stop by for a frozen treat.

“We’re happy to have this high-quality product in Newtown now as well,” said Warren who lives in Newtown and who had previously operated an ice cream truck for many summers.

In addition to praising their product, he acknowledged the partnership between the Yardley Ice House and the Artists of Yardley. “It’s nice to see a business institution and an artistic institution putting their efforts together,” he said.

The Yardley Ice House is joined by the Artists of Yardley in celebrating its 30th season in business. (Photo by Jeff Werner)

Also attending the anniversary event were ice house founders John and Susan Bissert who opened the Yardley Ice House 30 years ago and built it into a hugely successful seasonal business.

Under their ownership, Yardley Ice House won Best of Philly in 2003, 2012, 2013 and in 2016 when a cup of their water ice graced the cover of Philadelphia Magazine as the best water ice in the Delaware Valley.

“That was probably the highlight,” said the Bisserts of making the cover of the regional magazine. “They did a photo shoot of our ice. We had to send our ice out to Austin, Texas. It was our ice being photographed in Texas.”

The Bisserts retired at the beginning of 2022 passing the reins of the business over to their niece, Jackie, and her husband, Todd McGonigal who continue to improve and expand the business, opening their second location in Newtown in 2023.

“We had a great run. Now they are having a great run,” said John. “They picked up the torch and they’re going with it. That’s good.”

Jackie began working for her aunt and uncle at the ice house when she was in school. “I remember when a small was 85 cents. Today, it’s $3.25.”

Her uncle chimed in, “A small cone was $1,” he added.

When asked how long they thought the business would last when they took over a failing ice cream store 30 years ago, John laughed. “We were just trying to make it to the next season. Every year we asked the question, ‘Are we going to open again next season?’ It was always yeah, yeah, yeah. It was popular to begin with but it took a while to grow.”

Through the years, Susan was the brains behind the flavors, many of which continue to to be top sellers today including strawberries and cream.

Her favorite was chocolate chocolate chip, which came with the business. “That’s kind of why we wanted the place because I loved that flavor,” she said.

“There’s something about chocolate chocolate chip that some people have to have,” said Jackie. “It’s highly coveted. We have to keep that one on all the time.”

And speaking of flavors, Jackie is already working on a new one - Bavarian Cream Donut - which she hopes to debut later this season.

State Rep. Perry Warren congratulates Yardley Ice House owners Jackie and Todd McGonigal on the 30th season of the store.