A chocolate and milkshake chain with roots stretching back more than a century has set up shop in Middletown Plaza on Route 35, bringing handspun shakes, house-made ice cream and a working chocolate tempering operation to the Jersey Shore. MilkShake Factory is operating in Middletown.
A Family Business Finds a Family Town
A Family-Owned Business The Asbury Park Press reports that the Middletown shop is operating. MilkShake Factory has been family-owned since 1914, according to ROI-NJ.
The shop sits at 1377 Route 35 in Middletown, inside a storefront that Brixmor Property Group, which manages the plaza, leased to the chain — a deal first reported back in March. At that time, no opening date had been set, per the outlet's reporting. The store is now operating.
What's on the Menu
Every milkshake at the Middletown location starts with vanilla ice cream made in house, and the shop's lineup spans classic, nondairy, gourmet and signature categories, with signature shakes priced from $6 to $10. The company's own Middletown page touts a Chocolate Dipped Strawberry milkshake alongside non-dairy options and chocolate bark varieties, and notes that the team there is “serving up handspun milkshakes made with homemade ice cream alongside our legacy gourmet chocolate,” per MilkShake Factory.
Beyond shakes, the Middletown shop serves sundaes and a root beer float, and offers nondairy options, plus molten chocolate cups made with fresh fruit, housemade whipped cream and melted milk chocolate. The chocolate side of the business runs through a tempering machine used to melt chocolate for bark and for dipping cake pops, strawberries and cookies, with samples offered in flavors including s'mores, toasted coconut and fudge brownie.
A Century-Old Chocolate Pedigree
MilkShake Factory's history dates to 1914, and the Pittsburgh-based company evolved from a soda fountain, according to ROI-NJ. Today, the chain offers house-made ice cream and produces chocolate.
Expanding Across the Garden State
Middletown now marks MilkShake Factory's fifth New Jersey location, joining stores in Florham Park, Jersey City, Ridgewood and Somerville. The chain's New Jersey push began last October when it planted its flag in the state with three stores — Jersey City, Florham Park and Somerville — per the ROI-NJ report. A separate account traced the company's first New Jersey store to 177 Newark Ave. in Jersey City, with two more locations described as coming soon as of that March report from nj.com.
The Ridgewood store, part of that same expansion, is owned and operated by franchisees Penn and Tara Miller-Jones, the same ROI-NJ report notes, and the company has said it tries to open its locations in downtown settings.
What's Next for Middletown
The shop will host a grand opening event from noon to 4 p.m. on November 14. The shop's giveaway promotion, offering free milkshakes for a year to one winner to celebrate the new location, is restricted to the Middletown store, according to the MilkShake Factory website.
