{"id":229602,"date":"2026-06-27T12:19:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/229602\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T12:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:19:10","slug":"retail-watch-find-joy-at-this-new-lehigh-valley-ice-cream-shop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/229602\/","title":{"rendered":"Retail Watch: Find joy at this new Lehigh Valley ice cream shop"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new Lehigh Valley ice cream and coffee shop hopes to bring joy one scoop at a time to both customers and its employees.\n<\/p>\n

Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee will have a soft opening June 30 at 3592 Route 378 in Lower Saucon Township, owner Sara Heintzelman said, before a July 14 ribbon cutting.<\/p>\n

Staff will serve ice cream, coffee, refreshers and eventually small pancakes with toppings like fruit and chocolate sauce, Heintzelman\u2019s husband Michael Pilato, Get Joy\u2019s operations manager, said.<\/p>\n

About half of the employees at Get Joy have disabilities or are neurodivergent, Heintzelman said, while the other half work as their mentors \u2014 together, they are known as the \u201cJoy Crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heintzelman has a doctorate in educational sciences and has worked for the last 17 years at Centennial School at Lehigh University<\/a>, which serves students with disabilities and trains people to work with those students.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of where Get Joy came from is I was noticing that our students, that had really incredible support \u2026 at Centennial School, were needing a really positive, supportive environment for their first jobs,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd so I kind of took about 10 years to look around and think about if I were to design a business that would be kind of near what Centennial does, which is provide scaffolds and supports that are appropriate and aligned to the students\u2019 needs, what would that business be? And I wanted it to be a place that people were generally happy, and I landed on ice cream.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pilato, who taught for 18 years in New Jersey and operates two STEM-based summer camps there and at Lehigh University, left his teaching job at the beginning of this year to work at Get Joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved being in education but I knew I wanted to be a full-time entrepreneur outside of the public school classroom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

About half of the employees at Get Joy are either disabled or neurodivergent, Heintzelman said, while the other half work as their mentors \u2014 together known as the \u201cJoy Crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seventeen-year-old Matteo Amato said he wanted to join the crew because he likes ice cream (chocolate is a favorite), he wants to help people and he wants to make some money. Having opened a bank account, he\u2019d like to save up for movies and Lego sets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love \u2018The Lego Batman Movie,\u2019 \u201d Amato said.<\/p>\n

Twenty-year-old Lia Sampson said she had been looking for a job that could meet the requirements to let her work with one hand, noting it\u2019s difficult to find opportunities like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been fun, really fun,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m meeting new friends, getting new experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lisa Pfizenmayer said she retired earlier this month after 32 years with the Bethlehem Area School District ahead of her work as a mentor at Get Joy. That mentorship can include building communication skills such as greetings and making eye contact.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things I\u2019ve always pushed with my students was that I always wanted them to look ahead and try to find skills that could help them later on in life,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I thought that this was a great connection of now I can continue to help the kids move on with whatever they decide to do in life. And the fact that she employs both the special needs and the other kids to actually act as junior mentors, I thought was a great connection too, because I wouldn\u2019t just work with the kids trying to learn the job but also the kids who were trying to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sixteen-year-old Hannah Brodhead said she took on Get Joy to work as one of those junior mentors, and that she eventually wants to work in special education.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think sometimes our world is so fast paced, and sometimes it\u2019s easy to just overlook things,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I think \u2026 it really highlights that once again, everyone has different abilities and we\u2019re all capable of being able to accomplish the same things. It might be a little bit slower, it might be a little bit faster. There might be some accommodations, but we can be happy people and everyone has potential to be happy. Everyone has potential to do what they want to. Just put in a little bit of hard work. And I\u2019m excited to help those people achieve their goals and get a job that maybe, growing up, they didn\u2019t have that opportunity somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lia\u2019s mother Rebekah Sampson said Get Joy was supportive enough to send interview questions and tips to practice in advance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted her to have a good base and we wanted to increase her self-esteem and her self-worth as she looks at becoming a member of the community,\u201d Rebekah said. \u201cShe has felt very strongly about wanting a job for a long time, and this seemed like a good way for her to start practicing those skills and be able to feel like she is offering a service that people enjoy, and feeling like she\u2019s part of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amato\u2019s mother Jessica Grey, noting that he has autism and is a former student of Centennial School, said, \u201cWhen they were going to offer him the job, they asked, \u2018Do you think he would want an email or would he be interested in having something big? And of course, knowing my son, I was like, \u2018He wants the big thing.\u2019 So they [filmed] him and they came and offered him the job with his T-shirt, like everything, and \u2026 he was so excited, he was like, \u2018This is the best day ever.\u2019 And \u2026 just seeing other people wanting to see your child succeed is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shop will operate 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New employees are trained to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New employees are trained to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Chocolate<\/p>\n

Chocolate marshmallow ice cream is scooped as a group of new employees are trained to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Get<\/p>\n

Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Get<\/p>\n

Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee co-owners Michael Pilato and Sara Heintzelman have a training day for their employees Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Lower Saucon Township.\u00a0 New employees learned to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Get<\/p>\n

Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee co-owner Sara Heintzelman trains Lia Sampson on the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at the shop in Lower Saucon Township. Get Joy, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New employees are trained to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New employees are trained to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Tea<\/p>\n

Tea in a can is made to order as new employees are trained to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Verenna<\/p>\n

Verenna Weber, left, puts a lid on a cup of iced tea with help from Hannah Brodhead as new employees learn to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Verenna<\/p>\n

Verenna Weber and Hannah Brodhead practice making and serving a cup of iced tea as new employees learn to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Tea<\/p>\n

Tea in a can is made to order as new employees are trained to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Get<\/p>\n

Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee employee Hannah Brodhead sits for a moment Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at the Lower Saucon Township shop. Get Joy, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Outdoor<\/p>\n

Outdoor seating Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Tea<\/p>\n

Tea in a can is made to order as new employees are trained to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Chocolate<\/p>\n

Chocolate marshmallow ice cream is scooped as a group of new employees are trained to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Matteo<\/p>\n

Matteo Amato takes a break from training Tuesday, June 9, 2026, and sits with his mother, Jessica Grey, in the outdoor seating area at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Lisa<\/p>\n

Lisa Pfizenmayer, a crew member at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township, attends an employee training session June 9, 2026. New employees learned to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Tea<\/p>\n

Tea in a can is made to order as new employees are trained to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New employees are trained to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Lia<\/p>\n

Lia Sampson serves her mother, Rebekah Sampson, a cup of iced tea Tuesday, June 9, 2026 during a training day at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. New employees learned to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 21<\/p>\n

New employees are trained to make and scoop ice cream, serve coffee and tea, and work the cashless register Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at Get Joy Ice Cream & Coffee in Lower Saucon Township. The shop, which employs people with disabilities and high school students, will hold a soft opening starting June 30 and then a grand opening July 14. It will offer ice cream, Firehouse Coffee coffee and other refreshments. (Monica Cabrera\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Retail Watch is a weekly column covering retail and restaurant news in the Lehigh Valley. Have a question, tip, or want to see something in the area? Contact retail reporter Graysen Golter at retailwatch@mcall.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new Lehigh Valley ice cream and coffee shop hopes to bring joy one scoop at a time…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,60,182,436,432],"class_list":["post-229602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news","tag-business","tag-local-news","tag-retail","tag-top-stories-tmc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}