38 | MAY 9 • 2024
J
N
T
he business district in
Berkley is sweeter, a tad
saltier and decidedly
more fun since the official
opening on April 19 of Jill
and Matt Kasle’s
Bombshell Treat
Bar.
The corner
store with a red
awning and
brick wall mural
replaced the
former Sugar
Kisses Bakery
on Coolidge Highway, a block
north of Catalpa Drive. With
Bombshell, a name that came
to Jill in a dream, the Kasles
have created a cool destination
for students taking a short
walk over from Berkley High
School or anyone of any age
wanting a delicious treat.
Bombshell primarily is an
ice cream shop — but not the
usual sort. In addition to soft-
serve ice cream, floats and hot
chocolate, Bombshell offers hot
pretzel sundaes and amazing
hand-dipped and decorated ice
cream bars.
“Food is our love language,”
said Jill about herself and Matt.
After each was diagnosed with
cancer a year apart — both
thankfully now in remission
— the Kasles felt “a desire to
put something positive back
into the world,” she said. They
decided that an ice cream
business would make them
and others happier.
Seeking something
unique, however, led the
couple to research ice cream
concepts in various cities.
They found it when Matt,
Jill and their children visited
Chocolats Favoris, on a quaint
cobblestone street in old
Montreal. The ice cream shop
offered vanilla soft-serve ice
cream with 18 different Belgian
chocolate dips. Impressed, Jill
walked out telling her family,
“This is really something!” The
Kasles also found inspiration
at a Toronto-based La Diperie,
a Canadian ice cream store
franchise.
While ready-to-eat,
commercial ice cream bars are
available in supermarkets and
convenience stores, “we’re the
only ones making our own,”
Matt said.
Tori Parnell, added as
culinary director in 2021,
brought the Kasles’ dreams to
life. Bombshell’s silky-textured
ice cream, including an oat
milk variety, is hand-churned
on premises. Staff also prepares
the yummy toppings and
chocolate dipping sauces.
The Kasles started with a
Bombshell ice cream cart hired
for private parties and public
events throughout Metro
Detroit. Their ice cream bars
created buzz among guests
celebrating birthdays, bar/bat
mitzvahs, confirmations and
weddings, and at corporate
affairs.
Customer enthusiasm
encouraged the Kasles to
NOSH
DINING AROUND THE D
Bombshell Treat Bar opens in Berkley.
Esther
Allweiss
Ingber
Contributing
Writer
These Are the Bomb!
These Are the Bomb!
A completed
Campfire
Dreams ice
cream treat
A Cookies &
Cream iCe
cream bar
The mural
outside
Bombshell
Treat Bar