Meet the Owner: Bo's Ice Cream

7101 N. Florida Ave.
813-234-3870

Things don't change much at Bo's Ice Cream stand. You can smell it when you step up to the window to order. You just know the waft that greets you -- a blend of vanilla, freezer air and fruit toppings -- is unchanged since the Eisenhower administration.

Owner Kenny Bosanko didn't even add the drive-thru window until 2001, or accept credit cards until 2004, 50 years after opening.

Bosanko's father Kenneth M. Bosanko established Bo's Ice Cream in 1954 after moving his family from Ohio. The building was already an ice cream stand, Kreme King, but Bosanko said the business had struggled because the owner didn't keep regular hours. “He opened just when he wanted,” said Bosanko, adding that rather than post business hours, the old owner hung a sign that said, “Now” or “Not Now.”

It took a while for Bosanko's father to turn the business around. But he eventually did, and the stand on the corner of Flora Street and Florida Avenue has been a going concern, and in the Bosanko family, ever since.

Owner: Kenny Bosanko

Change is not-so-good: “A lot of changes would ruin (Bo's). I'm firmly rooted in the last millenium. As long as I'm in charge, it's going to stay pretty much the same way.”

But the neighborhood has changed: “I remember in the '50s and '60s, you could leave your doors and windows open. In the '80s and '90s everybody started stealing everything to support their drug habits. It's getting a little better now, but there's still some druggies around.”

But don't get any ideas: “We're heavily armed, and many of our customers are firemen or policemen, so there's always a lot of radios around.”

Bo's for sale?: “If someone were to offer the right amount for it.” Bosanko tried to sell the business in 2004, but couldn't get the deal he wanted. “I still want to retire,” he said, “but the way the economy is now, I don't think I can.”

Bo's best sellers: “Probably the banana splits, in terms of actual dollars. The most frequently ordered thing is the small vanilla (soft serve) cone.”

Bosanko's favorite Bo's treat: Hot fudge brownie sundae. “I make the brownies myself.”

Number of days Bo's has been closed since 1954: Two. That's right - two. Bosanko said it took a power outage caused by Hurricane Charley in 2004 to shut the store down.