Old-School Ice Cream Parlors That Are Straight Out Of The Past
July may be National Ice Cream Month, but Americans love the sweet, soothing taste of this cold dessert year-round. According to the International Dairy Foods Association, the average person eats about 20 pounds of the dairy (or non-dairy) treat every year. Although ice cream has become big business –– with international brands and coast-to-coast shops –– what's remarkable is that our favorite parlors are usually the mom-and-pop shops that have stuck around for decades. That's a testament to the fact that many people have a discerning taste when it comes to ice cream, and they value the quality that a local shop serves up, rather than, say, an industrial-scale store-bought pint.
But ice cream is more than dessert. There's something wholesome about it. For many, it brings back childhood memories of savoring a cone on a hot summer day. The nostalgic factor is big, so it's no surprise that many shops lean into it. Whether they are genuinely historic establishments or just new ones dressed up in bygone styles, an old-school ice cream parlor has undeniable charm.
Eddie's Sweet Shop
With the neon light blaring "SODA" above the entrance and the Victorian-style pressed-tin ceilings inside, Eddie's Sweet Shop evokes both the rarefied air of the late 19th century and the dawn of 20th-century consumerism — fittingly so, since this parlor has been around since 1925.
And it's not just the decor that is old school. The New York Times Style Magazine describes how even some of the serving dishes are almost a century old, creating the sense that you're stepping back in time. Giuseppe Citrano bought and renamed the parlor Eddie's in the '60s, and it's the same Italian American family running the business today. The shop churns out nearly 20 ice creams, including a coffee flavor, that can be ordered as a sundae with chopped walnuts and a caramel drizzle. And the scoops and servings are generous here, often cascading down the dish. Ice creams can also be ordered as frothy sodas with whipped cream. When it's summer season, try the raspberry sherbet.
(718) 520-8514
105-29 Metropolitan Ave., Queens, NY 11375
Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain
Brooklyn Farmacy is an old-school ice cream and soda fountain with contemporary origins. The initial tenant was the Longo's Pharmacy, a neighborhood fixture for decades. The traditional interior has been restored. If it weren't for the A.C. unit behind the counter, you could swear you were back in the early 20th century. Ice cream floats, sparkling sodas, and sundaes dominate the menu — alongside the New York classic egg cream, which does not feature eggs. Grown-up floats with porter and rosé are also available if you're in a boozy mood.
Most floats are made with vanilla ice cream, but the accompanying options vary from coffee (the Wake Up Call) to hibiscus, old-fashioned cola, and, naturally, root beer. A signature sundae is the 99 Problems, which cannot be ordered to go, but must be consumed on the premises. A decadent brownie between two scoops of chocolate ice cream, smothered in a vanilla milkshake and chocolate hard shell sauce, topped with the classic whipped cream and cherry.
brooklynfarmacyandsodafountain.com
(718) 522-6260
513 Henry St., Brooklyn, NY 11231
The Ice Cream Bar
The Ice Cream Bar is so retro it could have been in "American Graffiti" –– George Lucas' nostalgic homage to Californian summers in the '60s, where a vintage soda fountain would have fit right in.
The outdoor cinema-esque marquee and black tiles — and interior that resembles an old train cart with Art Deco touches — create a wonderful atmosphere for sundaes, milkshakes, and boozy floats. And the ice cream scoopers play their part with white hats, shirts, aprons, and black bow ties.
Flavors rotate, but you're bound to find something you like with options including butterscotch, banana "puddin," and caramelized honey. The sundaes are quite refined. Imagine a scoop of ice cream cocooned in whipped cream that is flamed to create a warm, toasted exterior. You could also order a decadent split with a sliced and torched banana on the side.
(415) 742-4932
815 Cole St., San Francisco, CA 94117
Angelo Brocato's
A New Orleans institution, this parlor may not look old, but it's been in the Big Easy since 1905. A tip off, perhaps, is the old-fashioned pastel pink walls or the black-and-white founder's photograph. The shop was founded by Angelo Brocato, who started working in ice cream parlors in Sicily at the age of 12. After moving to America, Brocato opened his original shop in the legendary French Quarter, where his granita al limone (or lemon ice) was a popular treat for the Italian community in the area. Believe it or not, it was a breakfast treat, not unlike another Sicilian tradition of brioche with gelato. Brocato's descendants now run the parlor, where the lemon ice has remained beloved, morning or night, by everyone.
Gelatos and granitas are house-made with local and imported Italian products. The hazelnut chocolate gelato is bound to leave you happy if you're into nutty flavors. Italian-inspired options include tiramisu and Fiore di Latte (cow's milk cheese).
Granitas are produced with local and seasonal fruits, so flavors vary accordingly, but can include kiwi, peach, and satsuma, a Japanese mandarin. Specialty cakes are also on the menu, like Torroncino: a vanilla gelato that resembles a creamy nougat with toasted almonds and cinnamon. There's a cappuccino ice cream pie, too.
(504) 486-1465
214 N. Carrollton Ave., New Orleans, LA 70119
Bassetts Ice Cream
Claiming to be America's oldest ice cream brand, Bassetts has been family owned since 1861 when the company used mules to churn its ice cream. In the 1890s, the Bassetts opened a shop and became the first merchants at Philadelphia's newly opened Reading Terminal Market. Today, it is the market's only original shop still serving on-site. The parlor has close to 40 flavors but keep an eye on Bassetts' social media for specials, like the mint chocolate chip and cookies and cream shake.
Your choices go far beyond the trio of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla. Pomegranate blueberry chunk and raspberry truffle are just some of the enticing options. All scoops can be ordered in a sugar, waffle, or cake cone.
If you'd rather skip the scoops, go for an indulgent ice cream shake, such as the S'moreos: A blend of cookies and cream and chocolate flavors topped with graham crackers and marshmallows. One last thing: If beer and ice cream are two of your favorite indulgences, you're in luck. Bassetts has teamed up with Pennsylvania Conshohocken Brewing Co. to craft an IPA inspired by the company's vanilla ice cream. Now that's a genuinely sweet and boozy concoction that proves vanilla ice cream doesn't have to be boring.
(215) 925-4315
Reading Terminal Market, 45 N. 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Handel's Homemade Ice Cream
In 1945, Alice Handel opened a parlor and served ice cream using fruit from her garden. To celebrate the shop's 40th anniversary, the street was renamed Handel's Court. Today, the brand has grown to over 150 locations, but the ice cream is still made at each location by hand. There are more flavors than one can count, but banana cream pie, blue monster, and pumpkin pecan are just a few that stand out.
You can find a fair number of vegan sorbets as well, including coconut milk and pomegranate. Devour a pink champagne sherbet or try a sour green apple ice. Order your scoops in the traditional cone or dish or make it a shake with any flavor on offer. The store's Handel Pops are ice cream to go, covered in a chocolate shell and served on a stick.
The banana split comes with the usual three scoops, but here it's topped with crushed pineapple, mixed nuts, whipped cream, and a whole cherry on top.
Multiple Locations
Margie's Candies
This family-owned parlor and confectionery has been a Chicago mainstay for more than a century. Banana splits come in multiple varieties, including marshmallow, chocolate honeycomb chip, and the Old Fashioned with pineapples and strawberries. If you're coming with a party, we dare you to finish the Royal George: a jumbo metal bowl filled to the brim with over 20 scoops of ice cream and cones, costing over $90 at the time of this article's publication. Or, if you're eating for one, try a raspberry sundae served in a shell dish with French vanilla ice cream, nuts, and a cookie, all alongside a gravy boat of hot fudge.
The malts are extra thick and can be made with any ice cream you'd like. Ditto the shakes. Options include (but are not limited to) blueberry cheesecake, mango dragon fruit, or one of America's most popular ice cream flavors, rocky road. Italian ice options include either mango or lemon.
Multiple Locations
Wilson's Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor
Located in the center of Ephraim, Wisconsin, a beach town on Green Bay, Wilson's opened its doors in 1906. The nostalgic front porch and red-and-white striped awning create a wonderfully inviting entrance. A specialty is the Wilson's Banquet: five flavors of ice cream and three toppings, finished with whipped cream, pecans, and cherries. But we're also into the Dark Secret, which entails a hot-fudge-coated serving glass, packed with chocolate ice cream and topped with marshmallows.
Order Wilson's 1906 Home-Brewed Draft Root Beer with French vanilla ice cream, served in a frosted mug, for a refreshing treat. The Phosphate comes with ice, soda water, and your choice of flavoring, including cherry, lemon, and chocolate.
In the mood for caffeine? Wilson's has got you covered with a Cappuccino Cooler, blending cappuccino and French vanilla ice cream. Another option would be the Boston Cooler with ginger ale and French vanilla. The parlor also serves a classic cherry pie with an optional dollop of ice cream. This place is bound to be a crowd-pleaser for everyone in the family.
(920) 854-2041
9990 Water St., Ephraim, WI 54211
Pop's Old Fashioned Ice Cream
Ray Giovanni (the eponymous "Pop") once spent his days serving ice cream at the White House to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Although Giovanni passed away in 1998, his recipes are very much alive at Pop's Old Fashioned Ice Cream in the colonial town of Alexandria, Virginia.
The establishment has charming black-and-white checkered floors, red-tin ceilings, and more than 30 ice cream flavors behind the display. We're eyeing the Bailey's mint chip or dairy-free Italian ice. Other noteworthy options are the Kahlua chocolate chip and the strawberry sauce — usually a topping, but here churned into the main attraction. Don't worry, though, you can still get strawberry sauce as a topping, drizzled over a scoop of ice cream. The list of toppings also includes peanut butter cups, marshmallow fluff, or Oreos.
You could also let the parlor make the choices for you and order a sundae. The Bean Me Up Scotty has coffee ice cream topped with brownie chunks, chocolate-covered coffee beans, and caramel.
(703) 836-5676
109 King St., Alexandria, VA 22314
Fentons Creamery
Serving the Bay Area since the late 19th century, Fentons Creamery has old-school presentation but modern and creative ice cream flavors. Try pistachio raspberry swirl, banana nut black walnut, or the 95% fat-free lemon light. This is one establishment that has kept up with our changing ice cream preferences but maintains a nostalgic feel.
The seasonal menu is equally impressive with pistachio pomegranate, coconut pineapple, and eggnog. A unique seasonal flavor is spumoni, which is based on the Italian gelato cake layered with cherry, pistachio, and chocolate.
Fentons' dedication to super-creamy, high-quality ice cream means it is choosy about suppliers. The parlor sources dairy locally from Happy California Cows and eschews industrial production. Instead, each batch of ice cream is made on its own, 10 gallons at a time. The company also uses pure cane sugar, 100% Madagascar vanilla, and Californian-grown almonds. If you'd like to see how the ice cream is made, the creamery offers what it calls the Arctic Tour, including a visit to the seriously cold freezers.
Multiple Locations
Zaharakos
Zaharakos is so old school that there's even a museum inside the ice cream parlor. This shop and confectionery has been around for more than a hundred years, most of that time in the hands of the Zaharako family. After closing in 2006, Zaharakos was picked up and reopened by local businessman Tony Moravec. The museum pays homage to the history of ice cream parlors with an impressive collection of pre-1900 soda fountains and unique syrup dispensers.
After touring the collection, head to the beautifully restored front counter for a strawberry shortcake sundae with vanilla ice cream. If the museum tour really worked up an appetite, order a double scoop of any two types of ice cream.
Floats are made with vanilla ice cream and your choice of soda, offering flavors like blue raspberry, cinnamon, and the classic to beat them all: Coke. There are also daily specials, like Milkshake Mondays or Waffle Cone Wednesdays.
(812) 378-1900
329 Washington St., Columbus, IN 47201
Leopold's
Founded by three Greek brothers in 1919, this parlor opened at the intersection of two streetcar lines — location, location, location — and has been a favorite in Savannah, Georgia, for over a century. Leopold's flagship shop on Broughton Street has many furnishings from the original store, including a black marble soda fountain and an old-school phone booth.
Try the banana split with Georgia pecans, the brownie sundae with homemade hot fudge, or one of the old-fashioned, hand-crafted fountain sodas, like cherry smash or vanilla Coke. Old-school ice cream sodas with seltzer, syrup, and a scoop of ice cream on top are also available.
The tutti frutti rum flavor with candied fruits and Georgia pecans is one of the parlor's originals — an ice cream flavor that may have been forgotten elsewhere but continues to draw fans here. If you're into rum but want a different twist, go for another favorite from 1919: rum bisque with chunks of almond macaroons baked in-house. And if you can't make it to any of Leopold's locations, the company also ships its pints nationwide.
Multiple Locations
The Franklin Fountain
Opened in the early 2000s, The Franklin Fountain — inspired by a marble portrait of Benjamin Franklin, who lived around the corner — recreates the spirit of a parlor in the 1920s. Housed in an early 20th-century building in Philadelphia — with restored tin walls and mosaic tile floors — the vibe is spot on. Sundaes, milk shakes, ice cream sodas, and fizzes are all on the menu. The nod to modern taste is the variety of coconut cream-based vegan options.
Keep it old school with ice cream flavors like butter pecan, mint chocolate chip, and peach. Plenty of toppings await, from brownie pieces and malted milk powder to hot fudge or caramel. A root beer float is always a classic, but The Franklin Fountain has more innovative floats, like Orange Dreamland with house-made orange soda and vanilla bean ice cream.
Perhaps the tastiest options on the menu are the ice cream sandwiches. Take your pick between chocolate chip cookies, brownies, or even pretzel buns.
(215) 627-1899
116 Market St., Philadelphia, PA 19106