MEXICO — Working at Frosty Delite offers a vibrant mix of customer interactions, a cheerful environment of celebrating families and sticky physical labor. Serving from the two open windows involves fast-paced rushes, as well as endless cleaning.

The longstanding 190 Main St. business is also often where the owner is mentoring teens who are often experiencing their first job and must learn to interact with customers, take orders, and address inquiries or complaints to ensure a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

That owner is Bob Bohren, who purchased the business in 2003 with his now ex-wife, Cindy, from Leon and Carol Cantin, who had owned it for 18 years. Cindy, who was a teacher at Meroby Elementary School in Mexico, had worked for the Cantins one summer at the ice cream shop, so she knew some of the ins and outs of that business. The business has been a fixture in Mexico, with Arthur Ferland starting the business in 1952.

In addition, Bohren’s oldest son, John, also ended up working for the Cantins. “When they decided they wanted to retire, they actually approached us, who they knew from being fellow parishioners of the Mexico Congregational (Green) Church,” he said.

At the start, Bohren said he knew he would be working with young people, something “which I had not done before. I was used to working with adults. So I had to learn, but it worked out really well with my son here. When we bought the place, he could tell me a little bit about was it was like to work here, and when I did things wrong, he would call me on it.”

“I had to learn that I can’t talk to kids the same way I can talk to adults. Some of my older employees from the early days told me ‘you’ve really mellowed,'” he added.

Besides showing more patience, he said he learned to be more of a teacher.

“Because with adults, I could say I need you to do this, and that’s all I have to say. But with the kid, who hasn’t done it very often, or ever, you’ve got to explain it and teach them how to do it,” Bohren said. “They were learning how to deal with me and I was learning how to deal with them.”

Bohren said he was fortunate that the young staff in those early years had worked for the Cantins a couple years and they knew their jobs.

“We’ve been very lucky, throughout this whole process, because there are not many jobs for teenagers in the area. So, we got the cream of the crop — the kids who were motivated and were honor roll kids and the top of their class. They were the ones who came in and applied. So, we got to pick and choose amongst the best,” said Bohren.

One of those teenagers is Alex Laigle, who is in his third year working at Frosty Delite, and will soon begin college at Wesleyan University, a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut.

“I’ve learned so much with this job. I’ve worked my way up. I’m now shift lead, like a managing position. It’s been really challenging but really informative. I’ve learned some really good life skills, with money, cleaning and being together with a community of people that all have to work together,” said Laigle.

He said that at face value, it looks like they are just scooping ice cream.

“But it’s really not that easy,” Laigle said. “We all work together in training the new hires. We each give our wisdom.”

About his boss, Laigle said, “He acts tough on the outside sometimes, but he’s really a lovely guy, very fun and a good boss, good co-worker and I like having discussions with him about jazz and music.

“Just knowing all the basics really of what you have to bring to a work environment, it just builds the concrete of what I’ll do in my future. I really admire his dedication for doing all this,” Laigle added.

Kara Woods has been working here since she was 15. She’s now 21 and going to nursing school.

“My two older cousins first had a job here, so that kind of got me in here, and I’ve been working here since,” she said.

As for her longevity with Frosty Delite, Woods said she likes the environment.

“We’re all pretty close. Outside of work, I talk with Ciara (Giroux, manager) every day,” Woods said. “It’s like a closed circle. It’s not just like work. Like, we’re all just friends.”

When Woods began nursing school, she said she did not expect that she’d still be working at the shop. “I just got my MA (medical assistant) at the end of May, so I honestly thought I’d get a job with that. But the pay here, and the people … just made more sense to stay here,” she said.

Woods said Bohren is a “good boss.”

“He cares about all of us,” she said.

CHANGING TIMES

One important aspect Bohren said he has learned is that a lot has changed with teenagers since the start of the decade.

“The kids are different since COVID. The pre-COVID kids we would get came from more settled environments. They were comfortable in their surroundings,” he said. “They didn’t have a lot of fears. Their homelife was good, and school was good. They had a more secure environment.”

Bohren said that after the pandemic, anxieties and other behaviors started to surface among some of the teens.

“The social skills are different, that’s for sure. In some ways, they’re more gregarious than they were before,” he said. “They’re not as respectful as before. They don’t fear me at all anymore. Coming in, a new kid, who’s only been here a couple of days, will think nothing of saying something to me that I kinda go ‘really? You realize I’m writing your paycheck, right?'”

As for cell phones and other devices, Bohren said he has rules about that

“They can’t have them on their person. We have a shelf out back that the phones go on,” he said. “If it’s during the school year and they bring a laptop or something here from school, if there’s time and everything else is done, they’re allowed to go back and do homework or whatever. But it’s pretty rare that we have time for that.”

Bohren said there are some teens that are very smart, but struggle with some basic things.

“Most of these kids are incredibly smart, but they also are kids that still don’t know how to do things,” he said. “So, you’ve got that dichotomy between genius kid who can talk to you about science, about math and about things school related. But how many dollars are in a roll of quarters, again? I’ve got to buy a roll of quarters. How much money do I need?”

In training his workers, Bohren said he has to teach them how to speak with people sometimes.

“You need to speak in complete sentences. You can’t talk to people in short little snippets, which is what kids do,” he said. “…We teach them how to talk with customers. You’ve got to look your customer in the eye. You’re got to smile when they walk up to the window.”

Ciara Giroux is working her first season at Frosty Delite. She’s not a teen, but a 41-year-old education technician with Regional School Unit 10.

“I work at the school, so working with kids is what I do all day, and I coach at the high school,” she said.

Giroux said she has enjoyed her first season at the shop.

“I absolutely love it here,” she said. “I became a manager this season, so I’m able to step in and give Bob some time off.”

She said the fit has been a good one.

“All the employees here are really great,” she said. “Everybody helped train me. They’re always willing to step in if I need help or train me to do something new if I haven’t learned it yet.”

Giroux would like to return next season. “If Bob let’s me come back, I’ll be back next summer,” she added. “Bob has been great. He’s a lot of fun, but he takes his job seriously when he has to.”

Pointing to the 25 or so pennants around the shop’s indoor dining area, Bohren said, “we’ve sent kids to all of these schools. When they go off the college, they owe me a pennant.”

“We’ve had kids who come here and say this is the best job I’ve ever had,” Bohren said.

“The one I really like to hear is ‘I still use the people skills I learned at this job.’ I have a number of girls who come back every summer because mom and dad still live here,” he said, “and they come in, always get ice cream, and some say, I’m going be here for a week, you need any help?”

He said most of the teens start at Frosty Delite at age 16, although he’s hired a few 15-year-olds, too.

Bohren has anywhere from 12 to 17 teenagers working during a season. During the school year, some work 8 to 12 hours, and during the summer, “as many hours as we can give them.”

“These kids are a big part of what makes it fun to be a business owner here,” he said.