Jack's Gelato owner Jack Fager and Grant Rosenblatt are pictured at the
new 59th Street business.
Photo by Travis Brown
OCEAN CITY Ocean City has a
long-standing tradition of providing
summer jobs to teenagers. Few go
as far as 13-year-old Jack Fager,
however, and start their own busi-
ness.
Beginning in late-April, Fager op-
ened Jack's Gelato on 59th Street.
With only one other employee, the
gelato stand operates seven days a
week from 4-10 p.m.
"It is a lot to do setting up and
getting the machines ready and just
a lot to get started," Fager said.
But running his own business be-
fore going into the eighth grade is
more than worth the work, he add-
ed. And even though he's only 13,
operating a business has been a
goal for as long as he can remem-
ber, said Fager, a student at Wor-
cester Preparatory School.
"It's a lot of fun. It's just learning
how to do stuff and learning from
your mistakes and how to do every-
thing right," he said.
A lot of that attitude runs in the
family. Jack Fager's father is John
Fager, owner of Fager's Island in
Ocean City. Jack Fager has grown
up in the restaurant business, said
his mother, Michelle Fager.
"This is what he's always wanted
to do. He's been interested in Fa-
ger's Island and what his dad's
been doing since he was two," she
said.
In getting the business started,
Jack Fager said that both of his par-
ents have been "really supportive."
They are renting him the space on
59th Street where the gelato stand
operates and are leasing him the
soft-serve gelato machines. But the
everyday work of running a busi-
ness is on Jack, according to his
mother. She sees the stand as a
practical learning experience for her
son, who is already thinking about
college.
"He does well in school and
wants to go to business school to
get all of those basics down," said
Michelle Fager.
Jack Fager is already thinking a-
bout specific schools, including the
University of North Carolina Wilm-
ington or the University of Maryland,
where he knows that he will be stu-
dying for a business degree.
The gelato stand is more than a
side project, however, said Jack Fa-
ger. He plans on running Jack's Gel-
ato every summer into the foresee-
able future. "I'm going to do this for
many summers ahead. I'm going to
try to get this really going for a
while," he said.
Jack Fager chose to specialize in
soft-serve gelato because he ex-
pects it to stay popular and relevant
every summer. He also thinks it's an
under-served market, with main-
stays like ice cream and frozen yo-
gurt dominating Ocean City in the
summer but leaving plenty of room
for competition. Soft-serve gelato is
considered a healthier alternative to
ice cream and has a unique taste
and texture that Jack Fager said im-
pressed him immediately.
The gelato machines that he us-
es are top of the line and were pick-
ed up at the most recent restaurant
show in Ocean City.
"You pour the product in the top
and it freezes through. It's like cus-
tard," said Jack Fager.
A little more than two months into
his first experience running a busi-
ness, Jack Fager is happy with the
business coming in, especially at
night. There were, and continue to
be, wrinkles to work out and hurdles
to overcome, he admitted. Dealing
with permitting, city codes and all of
the regulations in place for a food
service business were a headache
before he opened the doors, ac-
cording to Jack Fager.
"I had to get a lot of inspections
after opening, like three different
health department inspections," he
said. "I had to put in a grease trap
and there's no grease in there."
Even the headaches are learning
experiences, however, and Jack Fa-
ger is excited that he has the
chance to have such an uncommon
summer job in Ocean City.
Jack's Gelato Confirms Teen's Entrepreneurial Spirit
Page 58
July 5, 2013
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
By TRAVIS BROWN
STAFF WRITER
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