By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
The flavors sound like something straight out of an ice cream shop – vanilla, caramel, hazelnut and mocha.
There’s also a concoction called “dirty banana.”
Yes, they are icy treats. But not ice cream.
Mixed in with the smell of salt air and sunscreen on Sea Isle City’s beaches this summer will be the aroma of freshly brewed iced coffee.
Beachgoers will be able to get their caffeine kick with a 16-ounce cup of vanilla, caramel, hazelnut or mocha coffee or the best-selling dirty banana flavor. All for $7 a cup.
“They are cool, delicious and refreshing,” John Barnes, one of three business partners who own Beach Brew USA, said of the cups of iced coffee.
And to go with the gourmet coffee will be different flavored creamers, including half and half and almond milk.
Beachgoers will also have their choice of having decaf.
Beach Brew USA has agreed to pay the city a little more than $45,000 over two years for the coffee concession on Sea Isle’s beaches. City Council awarded the contract on May 24.
“This is the second year for this concession, and apparently, this is proving to be a popular item,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said.
Tom Donnelly and Tom Byrne are the other owners of Beach Brew USA. Sea Isle is part of the company’s expansion. Beach Brew has been serving iced coffee in North Wildwood for the past four years and will continue there this summer, too.
“We’ve done pretty well in North Wildwood,” Donnelly said.
Beach Brew’s baristas will push specially designed carts that are essentially mini coffee bars up and down the beaches. Coffee lovers will have their brew made fresh, right in front of them.
It’s not just adults who want to sip iced coffee on the beach, Barnes pointed out.
“There are 10-year-old kids who come running up to the cart for a dirty banana,” he said.
Beach Brew’s marketing pitch claims that dirty bananas are “world famous.” They consist of banana and chocolate flavored coffee.
Barnes explained that Beach Brew also does other specialty brews, such as Irish potato flavored coffee for St. Patrick’s Day. For school-related functions, baristas can make coffee featuring the school colors.
Sea Isle, essentially, is expanding its menu for beach food and drinks by awarding the new coffee concession.
Hotdog vendors are allowed to operate at eight beach locations: 32nd Street, 40th Street, 52nd Street, 59th Street, 75th Street, 77th Street, 81st Street and 85th Street. By state law, the licenses to sell hotdogs are given to military veterans.
There are also the ubiquitous “Fudgy Wudgy Man” ice cream carts that are pushed along Sea Isle’s beaches, creating excitement for children and adults alike.
Beach Brew’s iced coffee adds another cold treat for beachgoers.
“We’re like the Fudgy Wudgy guy of iced coffee,” Barnes joked.
