Sebring Soda & Ice Cream Works — Restaurant in Sebring

Was looking forward to the new shop after the HT makeover. Not impressed. The decor was better before. All the old signs...they need to come back. The set up was better before...the soda shelves cover half the windows. The new window seat is awful...color, size. Doesn't even fit the seat. Cushions dirty and stained...HGTV should know better. Ice cream, food, kids and cushions don't mix. Bring back the quaint tables. The lite paint color (not the teal) is the best thing that was done. Makes the place seem bigger. The teal paint, not the right color for an old fashioned soda shop feel. Plus, sloppy work on the windows above the window seat area. The paint is on the windows. HGTV, if you're going to do something, do it right. Visited on a Sunday. Waited in line 35 minutes. Nothing new. The owners should have at least 2 people working. ALWAYS. Why? You are losing $$. While waiting I saw more than 1 group (not kids) get cold sodas, open them and take to tables. The ones who waited in line only paid for 2 of the 6 they had. Can't blame the employee unless they think she should have eyes in the back of her head. She was fine but everything was a mess behind counter. Need a better system. Order at beginning, pay at end. And again, more than 1 person working. Prices went up, significantly. 2/2.5 scoops or a medium ice cream is now $6.99. Seriously!? I can buy a half gallon of premium ice cream at publix on sale for that price. Heck, even at full price of 9.99 is a better deal. Not worth the price when all the things that made the shop unique are gone and let's face it. It's just ice cream. No better or worse than what you can buy for same price at the store AND get way more than 1 serving. Spent $34 on 2 medium cups 1 shake and a kiddie cup. Next time I'll go to publix and spend $40 and get everyone in my group a half gallon of their own ice cream, go home, put a movie on and give everyone a spoon! *RESPONSE TO OWNER: No. You didn't read it correctly. My review was based on the several factors I mentioned and some I didn't. With the exception of the wall color I didn't like with what was done by HGTV. Your store was better before. 100% out of your control? OK, but you absolutely have 100% control now. For example the little signs etc that made you unique...you have control on whether you hang them back up or not.

Double your staff? You haven't but you did increase your prices. How is that accordingly when there is still only one worker.

Waiting 35 mins to order then another 12 to fill the order because there's only one worker is crazy.

Also, you didn't mention the fact people are taking product and not paying for it. I counted at least 8 soda bottles that were taken yet not paid for. That's about 24 bucks you lost while we were there.

I didn't compare your ice cream, which is Yoders I believe, to publix in a carton. I compared it to premium ice cream I can BUY at publix. Hagen Daz. When compared by taste and price, it's better.

Keep in mind, this is a review. It's my opinion. Most reviews are with the exception of the obvious. Dirty floors, tables, counters and chairs that remain dirty unless you want the 1 worker to leave the counter with 20+ people waiting to order to clean them. One of the things I didn't mention above.

I am sorry you didn't like my review but you cant fix what you don't know and that's what reviews are for, to let you see what customers see, and my review is what I saw and experienced.

I could have lied, which wouldn't do you any good. I could have not reviewed your business at all but then you wouldn't know why one of your customers won't be back.

I'll take my review down if you want me to, just say the word. No worries.

One more thing...I was being honest, which I believe is being a good person since we...

On Sunday March 24rd 2025 my family and I went to the soda shop. It was an incredibly disappointing experience. They were busy because of the show but by no means overwhelmingly busy when compared to most S FL shops on any given day. When you enter the shop there are no signs telling you how to proceed so that was a mess. We made it to the back of the shop where the line was forming and we waited our turn. There was about 8 customers ahead of us so it went quickly. We placed our order of 2 vanilla root beers and 1 pistachio ice cream and 3 chocolate cookies and then the cashier asked us if we got our bottles of soda. Well the answer was no because there was no signs telling customers to pick out a root beer in a bottle and bring it up to the cashier. No problem though, we simply fought our way back through the crowd to get our bottles of soda while the line waited. We then paid and where told to wait until our order is ready and they will call our name. OK no problem, except we had to wait 30 minutes for a young man to call me and hand me a styrofoam cup with 2 scoops of below average quality ice cream in it and my ice cream along with flavorless cookies. Now during our wait we watched this teenager make a comment to the people waiting. He stated stand here and wait so you can hear me when I call your name. Now that would be great and easy to do if the store was properly set up to handle that many people standing in the entry doorway area. You could hear the nasty tone in his voice so of course many customers remarked back to him "there is no room for us to stand here and there's no reason to be nasty". Then I looked for management and noticed there was not 1 adult working in the shop. Just 3 hard working stressed teens. Once I received the ice cream I was asked would I like my soda lid popped. I was thrown aback with shock. They wanted me to make my own float with a bottle of soda that's now hot because I was holding it for 30 minutes. Maybe if the store was properly set up and properly staffed I would have been handed a root beer float like I ordered. I didn't expect to have to make my own float with below average flavored ice cream and a warm bottle of soda. It's a shame that these owners were given the opportunity of a lifetime to make a name for themselves and to build up a following and they didn't even step up and take the time to be in the store and notice their failures or talk to the customer to get feedback on how they can improve their service so customers will come back. While sitting out front customers were discussing the failures of the store and the rude behavior of the young man, mocking him and laughing at his unprofessional comment. None of which said they would ever return only because the store was too much chaos that some simple signage could have corrected along with the proper staffing and low grade ice cream. Good luck to them and I hope they step up and address...

Sebring Soda & Ice Cream Works is located in the historic J.B. Brown building (1922) on the circle in downtown Sebring. Sebring is known as "The City on the Circle". It was founded in 1912 by Ohio by pottery manufacturer George Sebring. He designed a circular plan as a focal point for the entire community based on the design of Heliopolis, an ancient Egyptian city. George Sebring believed that all roads should radiate from the center of the community. The J.B. Brown Building has a concave facade that follows the circle to maximum the space. It was built for Mr. Brown's Hardware store and several other businesses. The second floor was the Circle Inn.

Today you will find the Sebring Soda & Ice Cream Works occupying the first floor corner. I was expecting your average touristy ice cream shop but the minute I walked in the door I knew I was in for a unique treat. Shelves and coolers were filled with every kind of old fashioned soda you could think of in glass bottles. They claim to have over 300 different kinds. I was pleased to find a favorite brand, Avery's Soda. They have been making their soda out of a barn in Connecticut since 1904. I love their Totally Gross Soda Line which includes flavors like Kitty Piddle and Toxic Slime. They had the whole line including some I had never seen before. This year Avery's made a limited edition flavor, Sebring Gator Grog, an orange, kiwi, and blue raspberry concoction made especially for the annual Soda Festival held every April in Sebring. They still had some bottles left which I was more than happy to buy. I also picked up a Shirley Temple flavor soda. Soda's run $1.50 a bottle. If you would like to try a lot of flavors visiting the Soda Festival is an economical way to do it. You can buy a punch card for $20 that allows you to taste 40 sodas. During the festival there is also events, food, and music.

In addition to the sodas, Sebring Soda & Ice Cream Works also sells hot dogs, shakes, and ice cream. I tried their Working Cow brand espresso chip with hot fudge. It was delicious and a small sundae was only $3.50. As an added bonus they stay open late which I appreciated because by the time I came in on a Saturday afternoon many of the other businesses on the circle had already closed for the day. The young lady who helped me was just as sweet as the sodas they sell. A trip to Sebring would not be complete without...