Tom’s Chill Zone Brings Italian Ice to Oneonta’s Main Street

By MONICA CALZOLARI
ONEONTA

There is a new business on Main Street right across from City Hall. Tom’s Chill Zone is easy to spot because it has a red and white umbrella outside that says “Italian Ice.” It is a family-owned business named after Tom Knuth.

Tom’s Chill Zone will be a vendor at the Independence Day celebration this year on Thursday, July 4 in Neahwa Park from 10 a.m. to dusk.

Before opening their brick-and-mortar seasonal business, the Knuth’s started selling Italian ice at festivals, using their pushcart with the red and white umbrella.

Tom and Joyce Knuth lived in Manhattan and Westchester before moving to upstate New York permanently in 2008. Italian ice is easy to find on many street corners in the Big Apple.

Tom Knuth worked downstate for Con Edison and the Teamsters for many years. Now retired, he said, “I am used to being busy.”

They discovered that Italian ice is a popular product at summer festivals.

“It is so cool and refreshing,” Joyce said, “but some of our customers have never heard of it or tasted it before now.”

Joyce Knuth, Tom’s wife, is a hair stylist and entrepreneur. She has been operating Denims & Diamonds Hair Salon on Elm Street for the past 14 years.

The Knuths have promoted Joyce’s hair salon and Tom’s Italian ice business at festivals such as Pridefest, 4th of July and the Otsego County Fair for the past 10 years. Eventually, they decided to expand Tom’s business.

Joyce said, “We wanted a storefront on Main Street for our seasonal Italian ice business.”

Tom’s Chill Zone had a soft opening on May 18, 2024, just in time for summer baseball. Some baseball families have already discovered this new store at 261 Main Street.

Pridefest 2024 drew a large crowd of customers to Main Street, too. The family plans to run the storefront as a seasonal business that closes in October or November and opens again in March.

John Knuth is helping his parents run Tom’s Chill Zone and manages the Facebook and Instagram pages. He is one of their five children.

The shop’s hours of operation are Tuesday through Friday from 1-7 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. They sell two sizes of water ice served in a cup. A regular costs $5.00 and a large costs $7.00.

The Knuths chose The Original Philadelphia Water Ice® as their preferred brand of Italian ice because it comes in so many different flavors. The classic flavors they serve are rainbow, blueberry, cherry and lemon.

John said, “You can choose two different flavors for a regular and three flavors for a large. If you want to sample a flavor, we’ll give you a small spoonful.”

John also said, “Watermelon and mango are pretty popular, along with the classic flavors.”

A local doctor and others have asked for chocolate, which they have not been able to find.

“We ask people to tell us if they have food allergies. Some people are allergic to coconut. Our water ice contains no soy, no dairy, no cholesterol, is gluten free and is not made with any nuts, John explained.

According to social media, you can order a mango coconut vanilla smoothie or an old-fashioned Radio Ball, which is a scoop of water ice with vanilla ice cream.

As small business owners, Tom and Joyce believe in cross-promoting the other businesses around them on social media. For example, Palette Play & Arcade at 277 Main Street is listed on their social media page, as are others.

Tom’s Chill Zone is located in front of Wise Guy Sammy’s and customers for both businesses can use the outside tables.

Joyce said, “You can come inside and cool off in the air conditioning or sit outside.”

She added, “I am grateful for all the community support for our businesses over the years.”

Joyce is busy running both businesses and has not had time for a grand opening for the Italian ice shop. Her salon, Denims & Diamonds, is busy with weddings, proms, and graduations. The rest of the year, Joyce caters to many of the college students and locals.

The pushcart and umbrella used to stand outside Joyce’s beauty salon, sometimes as an advertisement.

Joyce said, “It attracts attention.”