Why a Giraffe?

A very Jerzey Junction origin story.

We get asked this all. the. time. “Why a giraffe as your mascot?” Here’s the funny part. Before we had a name… before we knew if we were doing soft serve, hard scoop, candy, or all of the above… we knew one thing for sure.

👉 We wanted a giraffe. Debbie and I both loved giraffes.

Yep. No business plan. No menu finalized. But the mascot? Locked in. Debbie was also set on the word Junction. And honestly, it made perfect sense. We sit right at the junction of Main Street and Sandy Beach Road, right along the state trail that used to be a railroad line. A literal junction. A historic one. A community crossroads. We tossed around ideas. Liked parts of some. Squinted at others. Nothing fully clicked… until we realized we also loved the initials JJ for a mascot name. That’s when it all came together.

Now, yes. The Jersey cow is iconic in the dairy world. And yes, we respect her deeply. But we wanted something different. Something unexpected. Something a little sassy. So, we swapped the S for a Z, kept the dairy nod subtle, added a giraffe (because obviously), and just like that…

✨ Jerzey Junction Ice Cream & Candy Shoppe was born.

We’ve already shared our family’s history with ice cream, and we’re incredibly proud of that legacy. But candy? Oh, we’ve got stories there too. Let’s just say… some people might claim I slightly took advantage of Debbie when we were kids when it came to candy trades. Allegedly. 😇Didn’t feel that way at the time. Do I get teased about it now? Absolutely. Deserved? Probably. Once we said the name out loud, we immediately looked it up to see if it was available. It was. We registered Jerzey Junction in Wisconsin, and the rest really is history.

Since day one, we’ve been on the hunt for the perfect adult giraffe costume for JJ. Shockingly, that has been harder than expected. Who knew? But we’re persistent, and we haven’t given up yet. Every year, we’ve tried to bring something new to the shoppe. New ideas. New treats. New experiences for our guests to enjoy. Will we do something big and new every single year forever? Probably not. Starting out meant taking baby steps and making sure we could truly support what we offered.

What hasn’t changed is how much we love this beautiful little shoppe we’ve created. We just sprinkle in a little fun, a little heart, and maybe a touch of magic whenever we can. As we start preparing for Season 3, we want to say thank you. Thank you to every guest who has walked through our doors, shared a smile, brought their kids, their parents, their grandparents, and made Jerzey Junction part of their memories. We truly love seeing you.

And finally, a huge thank you to our husbands. Without them, this shoppe wouldn’t have been built, wouldn’t be maintained as well, and definitely wouldn’t run as smoothly as it does. They don’t get nearly enough credit. We couldn’t do this without them.

Here’s to more seasons, more sprinkles, and yes… still chasing the perfect giraffe costume.

Stay sassy, stay sweet, and see ya at the Junction!

🖤- Michelle