By Austin Arnold, BGSU Icon intern

Spring is quite literally a couple of days away and not only does that mean the return of warmer weather, but it also marks the return of some raved about treats from the Bluffton Dari Freeze, which opened its doors for the first time this season, 11th year overall, on Friday morning March 19.

Bill and Phyllis Marchal of Lafayette run the ice cream and food shop that offers some creative menu items like the reverse buckeye, which consists of peanut butter mixed with ice cream topped with fudge.

Or, if you want something else unique you could try a fried pickle or frozen banana. There are even some health conscience items on the menu as well, including several diabetic sundaes and shakes and a couple choices of salads.

Bill said other menu favorites include their shredded chicken and barbecue beef sandwiches and, of course, their hot dogs which are only 99 cents.

Bluffton Dari Freeze's hot dogs have been dubbed the best hot dogs east of the Mississippi. Bill explains how they have earned this title.

"One time, a lady who worked at the university came down here for lunch and she said she hadn't had a hot dog in years, so she ordered one. After she had one of ours she said it had to be the best hot dog east of the Mississippi and she ended up ordering one everyday from then on," Bill said.

Not only are some of the food items at Bluffton Dari Freeze popular, but the entertainment occasionally offered is too. Bill Plans on having a '50s-themed night a couple of nights this summer like he has done in the past.

He is hoping to have "car hops" on Wednesdays in the summer months as well, where the employees will come out of the shop and take orders. Bill is also looking to have a horse wagon ride again this year, which will take children coming to the shop on a ride around the village of Bluffton.

The reputation of the food and fun at Bluffton Dari Freeze attracts people from all over the area. Bill said he gets a lot of visitors from Lima, Ada, Findlay, Pandora and Cory-Rawson. During the summer it is not uncommon for there to be a line outside according to Bill. The reason for his shop's success is credited by Bill's philosophy of business.

"It's all about selling quality products at decent prices, if you sell cheap products you might get your moneys' worth but nobody is going to come back. If you have good quality people are willing to pay a little more and still likely to come back."

Like the customers, a lot of employees at Bluffton Dari Freeze keep coming back. Bill has about 20 employees for the summer and it is a mix of high school students, college students and a couple of adults. One employee has been there for eight years and most of the students come back to work for each summer.

One of the reasons for this, maybe the fact that Bill said he and his wife love running the shop and they treat all of their employees like grandchildren.

Bill previously worked for the Ford engine plant in Lima, where he worked for 32 years and then decided to retire. He said after he retired he needed something to do, so he decided to purchase the ice cream shop he runs now, which has been there since 1952.

Bill said Bluffton is a super place to be located because of everything the village has, such as a hospital, university, library, golf course and swimming pool. Bluffton's close proximity to I-75 also contributes to Bill's business as well drawing in some wandering traffic.

Bluffton Dari Freeze is open Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.