Jersey Freeze has been a Jersey Shore institution since 1952, when the Blackmore family opened its doors in Freehold, New Jersey. What started as a simple ice cream stand grew, over seven decades, into a full-menu restaurant and ice cream brand with a reputation that speaks for itself: 4.6 stars and 2,600+ reviews at the original Freehold location, the #1-rated restaurant in Freehold on TripAdvisor, and a following that includes lifelong local regulars like Bruce Springsteen, who’s been coming in since he was a kid in the 1960s.
Current owners Katie DiNonno and Matt Cangialosi represent the brand’s third generation of ownership. Katie started behind the counter as a teenager in the early 1990s and worked her way up to manager before she and Matt (a former police officer) purchased the business in 2014. Since then, they’ve expanded the menu and kept the same proprietary soft-serve recipes that built the brand’s reputation.
In 2025, Katie and Matt partnered up with Matthew Borowski to open a third location in Colts Neck, NJ. That partnership has continued to grow: the three of them are also the ownership team behind Jersey Freeze’s newest location, opening in Old Bridge, NJ in August 2026, and Matthew has since become a partner in the franchising business as well. Together, they’re bringing that same hands-on, multi-location experience to franchisees.
That’s the track record behind the opportunity: a 74-year-old brand, a proven model already operating successfully across multiple locations and communities, and an ownership team with decades of direct, hands-on restaurant experience. In 2026, we opened that opportunity to franchisees for the first time.