Big news from the counter: Ryan's is an official nominee for Best Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt/Frozen Custard in the 2026 Monmouth County Community's Choice Awards, and the ballot is open right now. Nominees are chosen by the public during the nomination round, which means enough of you wrote us in to put us on that ballot. Thank you. Now we'd love your vote.
What the Community's Choice Awards are
The Community's Choice Awards are run every year by the Asbury Park Press (app.com), and they happen in two rounds: first the community nominates its favorite local businesses, then the top nominees in each category go to a county-wide vote. Ryan's made the final ballot in the Dining section's ice cream category, in some genuinely good company. Monmouth County takes its ice cream seriously; we wrote a whole local's guide to what "best" should even mean.
How to vote (it takes about a minute)
- Head to the official voting ballot.
- We're under Dining → Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt/Frozen Custard. Find Ryan's Homemade Ice Cream and click VOTE.
- Your first visit asks for a quick registration; after that, use the "Already Entered" login and you're in.
- Here's the important part: you can vote once a day, every day, through August 31 at 11:59 PM Eastern.
One more reason to make a habit of it: the contest automatically enters anyone who votes in 25 or more categories into a drawing for a $250 gift card. So after you vote for us, keep going and vote for your other favorite local spots too. Half the fun of the ballot is seeing how many Monmouth County businesses you already love.
The once-a-day part matters: One vote is lovely. A daily vote through August 31 is how a small family shop wins these things. Bookmark the ballot next to your morning coffee; every day between now and the deadline is another vote.
Thirty-eight years of Monmouth County summers
We've been hand-churning small-batch ice cream at the Jersey Shore since 1988, long enough to scoop for kids who now bring in kids of their own. However the vote shakes out, being put on this ballot by our own neighbors is the kind of thing that makes every small batch worth churning. If you've ever left us a kind word on our reviews page, cheered us on at the counter, or ordered one more quart than you planned to: this nomination belongs to you too.
