The Yard Milkshake Bar, a “Shark Tank” TV show winner two years ago, intends to open in The Strand at St. Johns Town Center with its bowls, scoops, floats and $16 specialty ice cream concoctions that feature toppings like doughnuts, chocolate-dipped bacon and brownies.
The specialty shakes and sundaes can be ordered with a souvenir jar.
“It’s a family friendly milkshake bar that offers an exceptional variety of milkshakes and ice cream creations that will deliver happiness to all,” said franchise owner Charles Davall in an email Nov. 12.
Davall owns the franchise with partners.
He said they hope to open in early 2022 and will hire up to 30 employees.
Davall says it will be a locally owned and operated franchise of the Gulf Shores, Alabama-based The Yard Milkshake Bar.
“We fell in love the first time we went for a visit. Once we experienced this concept, we knew it needed to come to Jacksonville,” he said.
A permit application shows The Yard Milkshake Bar will lease the former Yogurt Mountain space at 4906 Town Center Parkway next to the Grub restaurant.
Facility’s Construction of Jacksonville is the contractor to build-out the 1,568-square-foot space at an estimated cost of almost $96,000.
Colliers real estate Senior Directors Katy Figg and Nancy Sumner represent the landlord in the lease transactions.
Figg said The Yard Milkshake Bar will be a destination for the market.
“Jacksonville continues to grow with new-to-market concepts and we hope to bring more of them to The Strand,” she said.
Davall said the Strand at Town Center “has been great to work with.”
“We are looking forward to being a popular dessert destination in their center,” Davall said.
He said it is the first of two locations with the second to be determined.
The menu for the Tampa shop, one of three in the state, shows shakes and sundaes like The Cereal Killer, Old School Banana Split, Doughnut Touch my Coffees and Cream, and Salted Caramel Cheesecake.
The Yard Milkshake Bar has 21 locations in 10 states, including the three Florida shops in Destin, Panama City and Tampa.
The company sells franchises.
Its menu features 28 flavors of hand-dipped premium ice cream along with specialty milkshakes. It features edible cookie dough as well as a gluten-free and vegan-friendly menu.
Customers can customize their orders.
The Tampa “secret menu” includes The Buccaneer of hazelnut ice cream with a red marshmallow drizzle in a chocolate-iced jar rolled in Oreo crumbles, topped with whipped cream, more red marshmallow drizzle and a brownie football.
Theyardmilkshakebar.com says Chelsea Green started her first ice cream shop with her mother in 2011 in Gulf Shores and added a second in May 2017.
She sought to be different from other shops and decided on specialty milkshakes and The Yard as the name.
She, her husband, Logan, and her sister-in-law, Ali, sought $400,000 for 10% of their company on the ABC reality TV show “Shark Tank,” where entrepreneurs pitch their ventures to investors.
The debut on “Shark Tank” in November 2019 hooked shark Mark Cuban for a $400,000 investment and 22% ownership. Cuban’s holdings include owning the NBA Dallas Mavericks.
Sharks Kevin O’Leary and Lori Greiner also made offers.
The Yard Milkshake Bar says it is an original concept that combines extreme milkshakes, ice cream, waffle sundaes, and edible cookie dough all in one.
The Tampa menu shows prices of $4-$8 for scoops with toppings extra; floats are $8 and shakes are $8 for a pint and $13 for a quart; specialty bowls are $11; and specialty shakes and sundaes are $16 a pint.
The Yard Milkshake Bar promotes itself as “a social media sensation with the ‘Instagramable’ desserts.”
Back to the menu: The Strawberries & Cream Cheesecake comprises strawberry cheesecake ice cream in a vanilla-iced jar dipped in crushed graham crackers and topped with whipped cream, strawberry topping, crushed graham crackers and a slice of New York cheesecake.
