Swirl Suites owner turns love of ice cream into business

Tracey Chandler discovered rolled ice cream in New York and decided to bring it home to Northeast Florida.


  • By Dan Macdonald
  • | 12:00 a.m. August 30, 2024
  • | 4 Free Articles Remaining!
Swirl Suites owner Tracey Chandler specializes in rolled ice cream while also offering a full line of ice cream treats from her store in the Orange Park Mall.
Swirl Suites owner Tracey Chandler specializes in rolled ice cream while also offering a full line of ice cream treats from her store in the Orange Park Mall.
Photo by Dan Macdonald
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Tracey Chandler has turned her  love of ice cream into a new career.

The hospital administrator has opened Swirl Suites Rolled Ice Cream at the Orange Park Mall.

It is not an ordinary ice cream shop. Chandler serves rolled ice cream that is made while the customer watches.

The concept was developed in Thailand, she said.

Rolled ice cream is a combination of milk, candy or other flavors, blended on a flat piece of metal that is cooled to 19 degrees.

As the milk product hardens, it is spread thin on the cold metal. Once set, a 4-inch wide flat edge is used to roll the ice cream into tubes. They look similar to a cannoli shell.

The rolled ice cream is inserted vertically into a cup and garnished with flavored sauces, whipped cream and other appetizing decorations.

The store is next to the TGI Fridays restaurant at the mall. It is near the AMC Orange Park 24 movie theater and faces Wells Road. The entrance is outside the mall on the sidewalk.

Swirl Suites owner Tracey Chandler in her shop in the Orange Park Mall.
Photo by Dan Macdonald

Chandler dates her love of ice cream back to her days in high school. Her first job was at Dairy Queen. To this day she eats ice cream at every opportunity. 

Even though she has her own ice cream shop, she’ll patronize others when the mood strikes.

“I eat ice cream over the sink, in the bed, on the couch, on the porch, in the car. It doesn’t matter,” Chandler said. 

The ice cream connoisseur came upon rolled ice cream at a store in Manhattan during a visit to New York. Intrigued, she tried it and sought to find it elsewhere, with little luck.

Before moving into the mall in May, she catered corporate and private events to introduce her desserts to the market.

She started by looking for the proper freezers. She almost contemplated trying to build one herself until she found enough information from other rolled ice cream stores around the country.

She estimates that it cost $95,000 to $110,000 to open the business. She has nine employees. The store seats about 35.

Izy Rodriguez uses a flat scraper to shape the frozen ice cream into rolls, creating a mint chocolate chip dessert.
Photo by Dan Macdonald

Swirl Suites is a full service ice cream parlor. Traditional scoop ice cream is served in cones or bowls. The menu has milkshakes, floats, sundaes, banana splits and ice cream sandwiches.

The rolls come in several flavors. Customers can create their own ice cream depending on the amount and different kinds of ingredients that are requested.

Unlike regular ice cream that has air whipped into it, the rolls contain no additional air. It makes the rolls more dense and the flavors stand out.

She compares the experience to that of an Asian steakhouse.

“It is the same experience as you would get to a hibachi grill. You know, you go there not so much for the shrimp fried rice because you can get shrimp fried rice at your local Chinese shop. Right?” she said.

A flat scraper is used to shape the frozen ice cream into rolls.
Photo by Dan Macdonald

“You go there for the experience of it all. And so I think that’s the appeal. I also feel as though it’s the freshness of it. Something being made and is not sitting in a freezer.”

The rolls can be made with low-fat or plant-based milk.  No sugar is added other than what already is in the candy ingredients.

The mall location creates pedestrian traffic. Being next to the cinema can bring business, but not as much as she had hoped.

“A lot of people only come to the movies when there’s really something to see that they cannot experience in their privacy of their home,” she said

A mint chocolate chip dessert at Swirl Suites
Photo by Dan Macdonald

“We do see our upticks when there are really great movies playing.”

A basic rolled ice cream that includes the choice of two toppings and whipped cream is $8.95. Each additional topping is 75 cents.

Topping choices include nuts, graham crackers, fruit, cookies, candies, breakfast cereals, cotton candy and salted pretzels.

Ice cream cakes can be ordered in advance.

The store is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

 

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