Lake Mills natives open new ice cream store this summer

LAKE MILLS — Sisters Debbie Kulow and Michelle Sukow said their love of ice cream started at a very young age. Even on the hottest days, their parents would have them bike to the Dairy Queen in Lake Mills and buy ice cream for the family.

Now, Kulow and Sukow have opened an ice cream shop of their own in Lake Mills. After talking about it for eight years, the sisters opened Jerzey Junction on Sandy Beach Road. They said they have seen a lot of community support.

“Everybody loves it,” Sukow said. “They’re happy there’s something where the kids can go.”

Kulow is a teacher and Sukow owns a towing company, and Sukow has owned the land Jerzey Junction is now on for a while, and used it as a car wash and laundromat. Last year, she decided they should do something different with the land.

Sukow said it has already been a learning experience. They are trying to listen to what the community wants and adjust their business accordingly. The plan is to make it a seasonal shop. They opened early May and plan to stay open through the end of October. September will likely be limited hours and October they will just be open on weekends.

Kulow and Sukow are excited about all the regulars Jerzey Junction already has. Already, many residents have joined the loyalty program. Some guests come multiple times a week and they know of one couple that comes at least once a week regularly.

“I think this community supports one another,” Sukow said. “It’s wonderful to see them come in and try new things.”

They currently have 24 flavors of ice cream available, plus candy and merchandise like t-shirts and bug spray.

For the future, Sukow and Kulow dream of having an ice cream truck or two that they can bring to events in the area. They plan to evaluate how the first season went this winter and see where else they can expand.