Frosty Freeze

Carol Switalski and her family own and operate the Frosty Freeze under their iconic sign on Main Street, Marion, MI .
 
“We purchased the Frosty Freeze in 2001. We didn’t realize how much can be put into a business until we purchased one. It doesn’t take just money, it takes a real commitment to a change of life. The business has become our life for six months each year. The rewards for us have been all of the young people who we have provided with their first job. Quite a few have spent at least three years with us. And still it goes on. In February, they start calling about a job for the summer.”
 
“It is not just the employees that we enjoy; it’s our customers’ appreciation. Some come every day for their coffee and donut fix. The first week we open in the spring, they all come to get the donuts they love so much and have missed all winter. Some of our customers get a dozen just before we close in the fall. They freeze them to have during the winter months.” 
 
The Frosty Freeze wasn’t always an ice cream and burger shop. After life as a gas station, the property was reinvented as the Alpine Drive In, the Whippy Dip, and now it’s present incarnation, Frosty Freeze.  Around forty years ago, local artist Troy Raymond painted a mural on the wall in the dining area. The mural depicts Snoopy, Garfield and Dumbo the Elephant getting together around a campfire. One of the biggest events at this beloved local business is the annual Frosty Freeze Children’s Banana Split Eating Contest during Marion Old Fashion Days the first weekend in August.