March 29, 2024

Sodalicious

July 15, 2016
Classic Malts and Sodas Rule at Summertime Ice Cream Haven

East Jordan couple Debbie and Marty Carey have long run a successful ice cream and broasted chicken stop, Marty’s Cones and Carry Out, on one side of the Jordan River. But when they spotted a building in need of renovation on the other side of the riverbank, they knew just what to do with it:

make it into a vintage soda fountain, to expand their ice cream empire citywide.

28 FLAVORS

“East Jordan is kind of divided in two by the south arm of Lake Charlevoix and the Jordan River,” Debbie Carey explained. “So when we saw that available building, we decided we could offer both a choice of where to go and a different environment, in a second place across the water.” The Careys chose to open up an old fashioned soda fountain, complete with big draft soda arms and a friendly neighborhood ambiance. “We’re in such a great location too,” Debbie said. “We look right out on Main Street from the front, and out the back is the harbor and Memorial Park.”

Sodalicious’ menu revolves around 28 carefully selected flavors of handdipped ice cream, including offerings like Jacked-Up Tennessee Toffee, Majestic Milky Way, Ultimate Peanut Butter Brownie, and regional favorite Superman, all imported north from a downstate ice cream company in Shelby Township called Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream. “We chose them because their flavors and ingredients are so great,” Debbie said. “It’s absolutely delicious ice cream.” The Careys would know; they’re members of the Great Lakes Ice Cream and Fast Food Association. They initially joined to help their collegeaged staff get scholarships, but they’ve found they’re reaping even more benefits.

MICHIGAN POTHOLE?

“Belonging to the association allows us to go to trade shows,” Debbie explained. “So the first week of each February, we head to the ice cream trade show in Lansing. We see so much cool stuff, and we get lots of ideas for Sodalicious.”

carries all the expected flavors — vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, etc.— plus less standard varieties like Raspberry Chip Cheesecake. Their best-selling flavor: Michigan Pothole. “The official description calls it chocolate ice cream ‘with thick chunks of tar and asphalt,’” Debbie said. “But the chunks are actually two different kinds of chunky chocolate. And Ashby’s Sterling actually donates a small portion of each sale to MDOT to help fix Michigan roads.”

Sodalicious does more than simply serve up ice cream in bowls. “We make a lot of things here fresh daily,” Debbie said. “Homemade brownies for brownie sundaes, no-bake cookies — people actually call to make sure we have those — and our own waffle cones for the ice cream. We found the perfect malt for our malts. We think they’re the best. And everything can be custom-made, as well — sundaes, cones, whatever you’d like. It’s definitely not an assembly line.”

LOCAL SWEETS

The sodas are a step above cool, too, with the draft arms providing drama as well as drink. “In the days before bottled soda pop was available everywhere, you’d go to the soda fountain, and they’d mix soda water from the draft arm with flavorings like cola, vanilla, or cherry,” Debbie explained. “We do that right here, and we also can add ice cream right to the soda to make what’s called an old fashioned soda.” Sodalicious tries to keep things Michigan-made as much as possible. In addition to the Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream, the shop serves Traverse City’s Northwoods soda pop, uses Ellsworth’s Backdraft Roasting Company coffee for their coffee milkshakes, and brings in Herkner’s Cherry Topping, also from Traverse City.

“That stuff is so good,” Debbie said of the homemade fruit-drizzle toppings. “Everyone loves it.” Whether your ice cream treat of choice is a Boston Cooler, old fashioned malt, sundae, or cone, you’ll find Sodalicious the perfect summer stop. With its red-and-black checked floor, red booths and stools, chalkboard menus, and the 50-year-old mint green Multi-mixer malt machine presiding over all, stepping into Sodalicious is as refreshing as the treats themselves.

Sodalicious is located at 109 Main St. in downtown East Jordan, 231-536-3085. Find it on Facebook and at sodalicious.net.

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