Living the homeschool lifestyle, Jantz Reid, 13, struggled to find community among her age cohort.
Her involvement at the Spring Ridge First Church of God youth group was her only way of meeting children her age. But even then, most of the students in the youth group went to the same public school, so it wasn’t easy for Jantz to break through the mold and make friends, she said.
"I don't really know very many people," Jantz said while licking the pumpkin ice cream off of her waffle cone. "I'd like to get to know people better, and I'd also like to have a bit more socialization than just my church."
So, she and her peers look to The Ice Cream Vault for solace.
The ice cream shop, located at 14841 Main St. in Alachua, welcomes teens to its second-floor event space on Fridays and Saturdays from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Guests don’t have to make any purchases to join in the fun. Teens can play video games, UNO or board games while their parents stay on the first floor and enjoy a more subtle atmosphere.
"It's great for them to have a safe place to come that is in the center of the community," said Julie Reid, Jantz's mom.
The Ice Cream Vault’s young staff, led by 17-year-old general manager Luna Jendzio, wants to provide local teenagers with a safe place to gather on the weekends.
"The atmosphere is very fun and bubbly," Jendzio said. "Kids just want to have fun."
Kattie Bessent, a 17-year-old server at the shop, said because many staff members are teenagers themselves, they connect with the teens more easily than adults.
She recalled a group of middle school girls at a hangout a couple of weeks ago, when Bessent was the staff supervisor. Because they saw Bessent was close in age to them, the girls felt comfortable talking to her about the drama going on at school.
"It just helps us be more inviting, more relatable to the kids," Bessent said. "They don't feel like we're their babysitter watching over them."
Melissa Sanchez Vann, 43, and her husband Joel, 46, opened the ice cream shop in April and launched their first teen hangout once school started in August.
Alachua is a small town, with fewer than 11,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and there aren’t many places for teenagers to hang out, Sanchez Vann said. She and her husband created these hangouts to provide a safe space for teens to socialize.
"There's nothing for the kids to do around here, like the young adults, the teenagers," Sanchez said. "I always feel like they kind of get left out."
The shop offers 144 different flavors of ice cream, with prices ranging from $5.40 to $12.99, depending on the number of scoops.
The store also offers a twist with its “dirty desserts.” That includes a “Dirty Soda,” or a mixture of different soft drinks with cream and mix-ins, and a “Dirty Popcorn,” which layers popcorn with toppings like marshmallows and M&Ms.
Sanchez said a handful of parents have shared positive feedback regarding the teen hangouts, and some have called her to rent out the space for their children's sports teams and extracurricular groups.
As The Ice Cream Vault continues to host teen hangouts, Sanchez said, she and her husband will push for stable weekend turnout. They are open customers’ ideas when it comes to improving the teen gatherings, she added.
"We just want to be a part of their little family," Sanchez Vann said. "Instead of them sneaking out of the house, going to a place they shouldn't be, they can come to a family-friendly, safe environment."
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the Fall 2025 enterprise and men's basketball beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams.
