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Special to the Opelika Observer

O-Town Ice Cream helps bring back sweet memories of legendary Sani-Freeze

By Morgan Bryce
Staff Reporter

September 3 will not only bring about the return of football season for the Auburn faithful, but the return of the iconic Sani-Freeze, made  possible by Opelika’s O-Town Ice Cream.
According to Angela George, co-owner of O-Town Ice Cream, a replica of the original Sani-Freeze storefront was recently constructed and moved to the Auburn University Alumni Center. Alumni involved in that process contacted her last summer about the possibility of selling ice cream out of the replica.
“We have a relationship with a couple of people at the alumni center, one of those being Kate Larkin, whom we have named a flavor after here at O-Town. The alumni were talking about how great it would be to sell ice cream out of the replica, and Kate mentioned that she knew someone who had an ice cream shop…and that was O-Town Ice Cream,” George said.
George said she will be meeting with the alumni association this week to determine the names of the ice cream flavors available. They will have their standard hand-dipped cones and cups at prices comparable to what one pays at O-Town. Though they will not be serving cooked items like the original Sani-Freeze, she said they have a couple of “surprises” planned, including a twist on the much-beloved flavor “The Flush.”
“We’re trying to include the original owners, the Hunt family, in this as much as possible. We’re hoping that they want to be with us 100 percent, because we want this to be a great experience for all of us and a chance to relive that experience for them,” George said.
George said the stand will be open three hours prior to each home game, and close 30 minutes before, with the exception of the Auburn v. Clemson game, because of the expected large turnout. She said they will be open for the duration of the season, but plans beyond that are uncertain.
“There are already 1,100 alumni pre-registered, and we’re going to be prepared to be open all day. We’re expecting to sell a lot of ice cream,” George said.
Auburn fans and alumni are not the only ones who are excited about the return of Sani-Freeze. George said that the opportunity to do this has been amazing for both her and her business.
“We are overwhelmed and blessed. I’ve even cried about it a couple of times that we’ve been approached to do this,” George said. “We value the response we’ve gotten and we had no idea that we’d be asked to be a part of something this big. We hope to bring back a positive experience that people once had with Sani-Freeze, and we’re grateful to be a part of that.”