Today, the Friday Flashback turns 1 year old.
Since last summer, we’ve featured some fascinating photos of Westport’s past: The sanitarium. The Compo Beach bathhouses. Gorham Island. Ray the Good Humor Man.
To celebrate this anniversary, I wanted something truly iconic.
The cannons? Minute Man? Remarkable Book Shop? Big Top?
Nah. They’ve all been featured many times on “06880.”
The Minnybuses? Arnie’s Place? A bit too narrow.
Suddenly, it hit me. For generations of kids of all ages, nothing said “Westport” like the Ice Cream Parlor.
The final location, on the Post Road.
In 3 locations — Main Street, Compo Shopping Center, and finally the Post Road (opposite what is now Qdoba) — the Ice Cream Parlor served up a lot more than sundaes, wax candy and a Pig’s Trough.
It served up memories.
Mine are of wrought-iron chairs, more ice cream flavors than Howard Johnson’s, and jars filled with candy.
What are yours? Click “Comments” below.
An Ice Cream Parlor menu, signed by famous people who had been there.
One special trip to the Ice Cream Parlor each summer as a kid. I remember it as purpler than in the photo. The two key items desired for purchase: Candy “dots” and wax lips!!!
My first job! I’d come home every night covered in all varieties of sticky sweet stuff. The Rave was downstairs.
Ah,the Ice Cream Parlor..:-)
A wonderful memory of that place:after having had my tonsils out at thirteen in Norwalk Hospital,1966; afterwards my parents bringing me some goodies
from the Ice Cream parlor..(those wax-filled mini ‘soda bottles,etc.:-)
In 1-3rd grade if I went a week with no detention I was taken there for a sundae by my mom. I almost starved.
The candy dots!!
and then it became a disco. i remember a lot of fun nights dancing!
I remember taking forever to decide. So many wonderful choices
“Phosphates”?
I was a big fan of the Ice Cream Parlor especially the last location . A great date night was a movie at the Fine Arts followed by a sundae at the Ice Cream Parlor . A different time but a great one !!
Sunday ritual. Go to church across the street ( Saugatuck Cong.) then to the Ice Cream parlor. Ya got 50 cents, what to get at the penny candy counter?
I remember the ice cream parlor on Post Road. When I lived in Westport as an au pair in 67 and 68 my friends and I would go there every so often. I grew up in Denmark and we have great ice cream, very, very creamy and not too sweet. However, at that time we did not have many flavors, and we did not know what an ice cream Sunday was. I especially loved the walnut and butter pecan flavor and of course the Sunday as well usually with those flavors.
Pig’s Trough!
1966 and the disco and dancing in the back. WOW! If only we could return to those simple days again … Protests, Marches, the Civil Rights movement, and the Vietnam war … Oh, they are back. Minus the lyrics and freedom of press in war zones to document what is really happening. A great memory none-the-less.
I loved the Nicklodeons, the penny candy and getting to have my birthday parties there. As a tweener, I loved the clothing store downstairs after they closed the Terpsichore disco, and the “Head shop/Record shop” in the back upstairs…The Ice Cream Parlor was a big part of my memories of growing up in WEstport in the 60s 🙂
And the head shop on the lower level. 🙂
Does anyone have a photo from when the Ice Cream Parlor was in the original location in the Compo Shopping Center on the second floor space? It was east of Gold’s Delicatessen. I’ve mentioned that location before on ‘06880’, but nobody else seems to remember. Would love to see a photo of that!
Bill, that was the 2nd location. And it was not on the 2nd floor — it’s where Cohen’s Fashion Opticals is now. First location was on Main Street, next to what is now Tavern on Main.
Absolutely loved the Ice Cream Parlor!
Wrote about it in my novel Sherry and The Unseen World.
Loved the penny candy…wax lips, chocolate cigarettes, etc. Remember wrought iron chairs and peppermint Ice cream with tiny bits of peppermint candy in it. The original place was my favorite .
I remember the Ice Cream Parlor when it was on Main Street. The Separate Shop was downstairs (which I also loved). I can still hear the nickelodeon playing. Having a phosphate made me feel I was traveling back in time to the 1890s. My favorite candy was rock candy; it looked sort of like glass jewelry.
Happy memories, too much ice cream and/or penny candy, feeling cool looking through the funky clothing downstairs and acting like I knew what a head shop was!
THE ORIGINAL ICE CREAM PARLOR WAS FOUNDED BY BOB BEACH ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF PROPERTY OWNED BY DR.WILLIAM PHILIP TEUSCHER AT 144 MAIN STREET, THEN TAKEN OVER BY HARRISON (FORGOTTEN FULL NAME) WHO WAS EVICTED
IN 1958. THE SPACE WAS THEREAFTER LEASED TO CHEZ PIERRE, A FRENCH RESTAURANT OWNED BY PIERRE NELLI. THE SPACE IS NOW KNOWN AS TAVERN ON MAIN
SUBSEQUENTLY OCCUPIED BY CHEZ PIERRE
Do you know if that was that the Beach Family who lived on Broad Street?
Phillmore “Sonny” Harrison and his wife Phyllis. In 1964 or thereabouts the basement was a billiards/pool parlor.
If there was a hippy clothing store associated with the ice cream parlor, I vaguely remember buying a couple of pairs of bell bottoms.
Would someone please explain the phosphates to us kids who weren’t born yet, please?!
Must be seltzer water, our “coke floats”?
My first date after the Bedford elementary school moving up dance with Kimberly Brun and my parents and her parents sitting behind us at a table chowing down on ice cream.
And the old flip card movie machines
I remember going to my cousin Karlene’s
Birthday party at the Ice Cream Parlor, the original location which if I remember was
Under Chez Pierre’s restaurant on Main St
Now named Tavern on Main.
HI MARY ANN – ORIGINAL ICECREAAM PARLOR WAS ON SECOND FLOOR . CHEZ PIERRE TOOK THAT SPACE WHEN THE ICE CREAM PARLOR VACATED
Red Wax Lips, candy necklaces, sugar dots on paper in a big glass jar.
What a great place it was.
Their daughter Laura Harrison was in our class Dan
My Dad’s signature is on the cover of the menu! (Sonny Fox) and we went there fairly often – my 3 brothers and I LOVED it. I think we were more obsessed with the penny candy than the ice cream, although I loved their ice cream sodas. I always got a “black and white” – vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. My brothers and I always thought the guy behind the penny candy counter was kind of mean and scary – it was such a tough decision as to what to get , and he always seemed annoyed that we took so long to decide. But there was so much to choose from and I remember thinking it was just so BEAUTIFUL – all the jars and windows full of every kind of candy a child could imagine. Did anyone else find him intimidating?? But many happy memories of Ye Old Ice Cream Parlor – thanks for posting!
If that was the owner yes
Finally! A post about what was Westport’s greatest attraction! How sad that it is no longer there. Can we bring it back? Puhleeeeese? From a kids perspective IT WAS FANTASTIC! A whole building painted PINK! With penny candy, ice cream and lots of wax candles downstairs. The wax candles were memorable, they were multicolored and in all shapes and sizes with a 1/4″ of dust imbedded in the ridges. Each one was fascinating. I have never been able to look at a wax candle since then without being transported to The Ice Cream Parlor. And what about their fabulous sign with the giant pointing hand?! The BEST PLACE EVAH!!!!!
If anyone has more pictures, please POST!
The Ice Cream Parlor was our favorite place to go as kids. Once, my brother ordered The Pigs Trough, which was a huge pan filled with ice cream. If one person could eat it all in a certain period of time, it was free. Needless to say, he couldn’t. When the downstairs pool hall has closed, my dad bought one of the antique billiard tables. It was beautiful!