Frigid Frog to keep shaved ice business open all year long

The corner of Timberlake and Old Graves Mill roads has long been home in the spring and summer to flavored ice treats.

Now a new business is carrying on that tradition but making it a year-round enterprise, with more than just shaved ice.

The Frigid Frog opened there on the first of August, pretty much on the same site as the Bahama Sno Shack, which did not reopen in the spring.

Owner Jerry Miller, of Lynchburg, has made the business a family affair, relying on his son Kalab and his mother-in-law Vickie Bryant to help out.

Hot chocolate and coffee are dispensed from the bright yellow trailer along with more than 100 flavors of shaved ice and other goodies.

On a recent Friday night, Miller sat on one of the two picnic tables beside his business.

The top of the two tables are covered with customers’ signatures and favorite flavors. He just had returned from a football game at Brookville High School. He had to leave before the fourth quarter was over to get the Frog ready for business.

He expected a crowd, even though the temperature that night was about 60 degrees.

“In a few minutes they’ll start rolling in,” he said.

At 10 p.m. the game ended and within minutes, the parking lot began to fill with local high school students.

Besides the shaved ice, Miller himself is a draw for the customers.

As they make their way to the Frigid Frog trailer, many stop first to talk to Miller. They thank him for coming to the game, and Miller finds out the final score.

Miller decided to open his business when Bahama Sno Shack, which previously operated in the Timberlake Plaza, closed. He said he wanted to “give the kids somewhere to come and be safe.”

He has just four rules for his customers: “You can’t drink, don’t litter, be nice at all times and no loud music,” he said. “They listen to my music,” which is a mix of country, hip-hop and rock music.

His shaved ice has even more variety, with more than 100 flavors. There’s even one that’s named after a local band consisting of Brookville High School seniors; “Big City Dreams.”

Tyler Burnett, a member of the band, explained, “He let us make our own flavor.”

It consists of green apple (the city), vanilla (the city, again, because it’s a big city) and dreamsicle (dreams).

Sarah Stephens, a Brookville student, said she’s been coming to the Frog since it opened on Aug. 1. She had a hot chocolate, which Miller said gets more popular as the temperature drops.

Stephens comes with her friends after “mostly every home game.” And apparently, so do many others.

“One night we counted around 75 people,” said Miller. “On those nights you see cars come in the parking lot and then go right back out (after seeing the lines.)”

This night, however, Miller has a little more than 30 customers crowded around the trailer. Officially, he closes at 11 p.m., but said, “We’ll stay open until they stop coming.”