This NYC Ice Cream Shop Is A Blast From The Past

If there's one thing we can count on, its the fickleness of the food and beverage industry. For this reason, restaurants that might be hot and in high demand one day are empty and devoid of customers the next. This is especially true of urban areas like New York City, where factors like rent, staffing, and the coronavirus pandemic, have taken their toll. As of March 2021, Eater reported the closure of 52 iconic eateries, including institutions like Greenwich Village's Gotham Bar & Grill; Chinatown's Hop Shing; Fedora in the West Village; and the movie-famous Carnegie Deli, whose owner Marian Harper announced the shutdown in a statement saying: "I'm very sad to close Carnegie Deli New York at 854 7th Avenue, but I've reached a time in my life when I need to take a step back" (via People). 

There is one long-standing establishment, however, that's defied the odds. The New York Times has reported that the city's longest surviving ice cream parlor is Eddie's Sweet Shop, located in Forest Hills. Eddie's serves up a treat that is universally loved, and even has the enthusiastic endorsement of President Joe Biden. Eddie's ice cream is made fresh by the Citrano family, who has owned the shop since 1968.

The New York Times praises Eddie's coffee ice cream, describing it as "a deep, subtle flavor: creamy but not overly rich, sweet but without that strange aftertaste caused by too much sugar." And while you'll find popular favorites like butter pecan, cherry vanilla, mint chip, and maple walnut, owner Vito Citrano doesn't appear particularly keen on adding new flavors. "If you want Rocky Road, we can add marshmallows and nuts to your chocolate ice cream," he tells the Times. An added bonus: Eddie's floats, milkshakes, sundaes, and egg creams can be enjoyed on delightful vintage dishes, some of which date back to when the shop first opened.

If ice cream isn't your thing, a visit to Eddie's could be worth it for a glimpse of the shop's interior, which features a marble-topped counter and wooden stools that swivel. One of its most interesting features is its refrigerator, which Citrano swears "is at least 80 years old but still works."

That claim might sound like a stretch, but records indicate that the address might have had an ice cream parlor sitting in that spot since the 1940s, when it was known as Witt's Ice Cream Parlor. But it was Citrano's father Giuseppe who made it a landmark — and he even made up a slogan for the spot: "Take your children to the place your grandparents had ice cream."