Cool off with Coastal Chill

By Cynthia Reeves Photos by Kate Treick Photography

A sign at the counter reads: “Ice Cream — because no great love story started with salad!”

Heather Bennett, owner of Coastal Chill Company, says that message is apropos because her business is all about spreading a little love.

“I’m proud of what we’re doing here. We try to take a dessert everyone loves and make it better for us,” she said.

Bennett opened the little ice cream shop with fresh churned ice cream, Italian ice, chillers and shakes about a year and a half ago. The business started as a mobile food truck, but soon Heather found a brick-and-mortar location at the Neighborhood Walmart Shopping Center in Gulf Breeze to offer families a place to relax and refresh.

She runs the operation. Her husband, Jason, makes the ice cream.

“He’s the mastermind behind the ice cream!”

Heather explains that all ice cream is made in house, churning it in the back in a batch freezer. They use 16% clean label dairy to set Coastal Chill apart.

“There are six ingredients in it. No preservatives, and we can pronounce them all,” she said. “The products come straight from the farm and are not previously frozen.”

Bennett tries to use all natural ingredients to color the ice cream as well. All the Italian Ice is gluten and dairy free. Most of the ice dishes are dye free with no artificial colors, flavors or corn syrup. Her goal is quality.

Mike and Brooke Ward and their family drive over from Pace to Gulf Breeze regularly because they appreciate that “the staff goes the extra mile” to serve good and delicious treats.

“Today’s my birthday!” Brooke Ward exclaimed. “But I don’t want cake; I want Coastal Chill.”

She recommends trying the homemade waffle cones and bowls.

“Everything is wonderful. You can tell it’s fresh,” she said.

While she digs into her banana pudding ice cream, her family plays one of the little table games Bennett has provided around the shop.

They are old-fashioned games like checkers, Connect Four, ring toss and tic-tac-toe. Brooke Ward loves that her kids are engaged. A visit to the ice cream shop is good family time.

“No one is looking at their phones here,” she said.

That’s just how Bennett wants it.

“I truly want people to connect with each other,” she said, adding that it is “refreshing to see people come in and play and make memories.”

In the summer, tourists are typical customers, but once school starts, the staff is happy to serve local kids after school. Bennett believes is a safe place with coffee shop vibes.

Coastal Chill serves a rotating menu that typically involves ten staple flavors of ice cream and Italian ice. New menus are posted on Facebook and Instagram on Mondays. Italian ice comes in flavors like lemon, blue raspberry and pineapple.

Chillers are a light and refreshing drink to sip on. They are comparable to frozen lemonade. Bennett suggests sampling the Mojito Twist, which is a tangy, tart delight. Ice cream is the biggest seller with cookies and cream, cookie monster and banana pudding being the hottest of the cool desserts.

Bennett beams when she says, “It’s hard to walk away from the ice cream because it’s that good.”

The Ward family says Coastal Chill is simply their happy place. Bennett, who claims “joy” as her word, is happy to share that feeling.