The "Bobcat" Under New Ownership

The "Bobcat" are under new ownership and the announcement came last Friday via Facebook.

The previous owners, Karen and Phillip Angel had to say this: “Karen and I (Phillip Angel) bought the Bobcat Dairy Bar from JoAnn Flynn and Heber Dunaway in April 2014. We were able to put our own touches on the Bobcat and bring back Superman ice cream over the last 10 years. We have enjoyed serving the community and our workers have become family. With that said, we have sold the Bobcat to Katie and James Aardema. They love the community, our youth and The Bobcat. They will put their own touches on the Bobcat over time (just like we have) but it will continue to serve the community like it has since 1978. They will officially take over on Monday. We want to thank our community, customers and especially all of our workers and friends for their support the last 10 years. We will still be around and look forward to the future of the BDB.”

The new owners, James and Katie Aardema, also took to Facebook sharing their excitement on their new venture. " Everything happens for a reason…..this is something I have said my whole life. Clearly God had a plan for us, and we just didn’t know exactly what that was until these last few months. I grew up coming to Red River Gorge and over time my family bought cabins that brought us to the area even more often. When James and I decided to get married, the gorge was the place we wanted to do it. The area of Cliffview Resort that we were married in was Lee County. We didn’t know at the time what the significance of that would really be. As time went on I told James, Beattyville is where I want to live one day. When the time came to make the move a year and a half ago, I was adamant that it had to be Lee County. When I was looking for a job in the schools last summer, I said the same. Little did we know that this move was setting us up to become business owners and start plans for a coffee shop in town, but also for the opportunity to buy a community staple to allow for it to continue a long tradition. As of this coming Monday, James and I will be the new owners of The Bobcat Dairy Bar! We are excited and can’t wait to start serving the amazing community of Beattyville, Lee County and the rest of the surrounding area!"

Under new ownership, the "Bobcat" will be selling Slushies and iced coffees, along with the traditional staples of "Bobcats" famous goulash and Aunt Judy. James and Katie says she has a lifelong contract with the "Bobcat" and she work as long as she wants. She will always have a position at the "Bobcat".