By Lisa Schiffman
Walking through the door of Eddie’s Sweet Shop is like being catapulted through a time machine back to the 1920s. Inside, the 19th-century interior is perfectly preserved. Nine original wood-topped revolving stools face a white marble-topped counter. The floor is black and white mosaic tile, the ceiling above pressed-tin. Behind the soda fountain is a 75-year-old white porcelain refrigerator, Frigidaire’s first electric model.
Eddie’s, at 105-29 Metropolitan Ave. in Forest Hills, is a neighborhood institution, one of the few remaining old-time ice cream parlors in Queens. Generations of Queens residents have enjoyed the shop’s homemade ice cream, hot fudge and whipped toppings. Along with the selection of cones, sundaes, sodas and malts made here, Eddie’s serves up a hefty scooping of nostalgia. People have cherished memories of coming here with their parents, friends or sweethearts back in their youth.
Places like Eddie’s, vs. contemporary ice cream chains, hold a special place in people’s hearts. “These places, which cling to the past, represent a hometown, family, the place where boy met girl, a date place,” said Stanley Kogan, a borough historian. “Apart from their inherent charm, they are important as living history.” At a time when many historic buildings are being torn down, these establishments represent a link with the past, Kogan said.
Along with pizza, hamburgers and hot dogs, ice cream holds a revered place in the American culinary conscience. According to the International Dairy Foods Association, total sales of ice cream and frozen desserts in 2001 amounted to $20.7 billion, of which $13 billion was spent on outside-the-home dessert purchases. Nationwide, Americans consume more than 1.6 billion gallons of ice cream, or approximately 23 gallons per person.
The history of ice cream goes back to ancient Greece and Rome. Introduced in Europe by Marco Polo from the Far East, ice cream was further developed by Italians in the 18th century. Dolly Madison is credited with popularizing ice cream in America after she served a strawberry ice cream dessert at her husband, President James Madison’s, second inaugural banquet at the White House in 1812. In the 1860s, Italian vendors called “hokey-pokey” men served ice cream in the streets from small carts pulled by goats.
The first U.S. ice cream parlors, one of the few establishments where women could be served unescorted, opened sometime in the late 1800s. The development of pre-packaged ice cream sold in supermarkets, along with the decline of “Main Street” shops, led to the disappearance of the traditional soda fountain.
However, some old-fashioned ice cream parlors like Eddie’s have managed to survive, even to flourish.
“Things change, except for Eddie’s,” said Joe Citrano, co-owner for the past 35 years. Eddie’s is a family-run business. Vito Citrano, Joe’s son, has been making the ice cream down in the basement since 1968. “We make our own ice cream, whipped cream, most of the syrups, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and coffee, and the hot fudge toppings,” Vito Citrano said. Right now, the shop offers about 20 flavors, as well as vanilla and chocolate non-fat yogurt. Categorized as premium ice cream, Eddie’s ice cream has about a 15 percent butterfat content, which accounts for its dense and delicious flavor.
Joe Citrano regards his long-time clientele as extended family members. “People who have moved away come back and visit,” he said. “When they step through the door they are like family.” That list includes celebrities like Ray Romano of television’s “Everybody Loves Raymond.” The shop has been the site of numerous commercials and films — “Brighton Beach Memoirs” was filmed here.
“We are not in business to make a fortune but to live and make people happy,” Joe Citrano said.
“We use only the best ingredients. When you taste it, you’ll just say wow,” Vito Citrano said. As he spoke, two women sitting at the counter, temporarily forsaking their diets, cheerfully splurged on ice cream sundaes; one topped with wet walnuts, the other with hot fudge, both covered with a mound of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. “The diet starts tomorrow,” said one, dipping her spoon back into her bowl.
When John Jahn opened the first Jahn’s in the Bronx at 138th Street and Alexander Avenue in 1897, a scoop of ice cream sold for a nickel. Eventually “Papa Jahn,” as he came to be called, opened up three additional shops, one for each of his children. The original, at 117-03 Hillside Ave. in Richmond Hill, is the last surviving store. For the past 13 years, it has been operated by Russian immigrant Igor Mikit.
Dating back to the early 1920s, the place is a virtual treasure trove of antique memorabilia. There is a grandfather clock and an American Soda fountain, built in 1894, on display. Behind the main counter is a Puffer refrigerator, made in 1888. A treasured piece, Mikit said, is a nickelodeon with nine instruments made by the Seeburg Piano Company that has been here since 1934. “There are only four others of its kind in existence,” Mikit said. Original Moxie chandeliers hang in the dining area (a soda company in operation before Coca-Cola) alongside etched glass chandeliers that once used gas, and now are powered by electricity. Next to the cash register is a century-old change machine. “It still works,” Mikit said.
On the dark-wood paneled walls, scarred by decades worth of graffiti, is a group of gilt-framed oil paintings by Jahn himself. To his great surprise someone once offered him a large sum for the pictures, Mikit said. He declined. “The pictures are part of the atmosphere,” he said.
A full-service restaurant, Jahn’s offers a large selection of ice cream confections, catering to large appetites. Infamous among them is the “Kitchen Sink.” At $38.65, the Kitchen Sink is designed to serve eight people. Enormous, it consists of eight scoops of ice cream and a number of toppings. So far, nobody has been able to consume one individually, though it has been attempted, Mikit said.
Generations have grown up here, partied here, celebrated monumental life events. “Birthday parties, graduations,” Mikit said. “It is not commercial like Haagen Dazs or Friendly’s. People here communicate with the staff. Lots of kids worked here summers and now come back and bring their own kids. People in their 70s and 80s come in saying they went on dates, or met their spouses here.”
For Judy Jackson’s family, Hildebrandts, an ice cream parlor and candy store close to the Queens border in Williston Park, goes back five generations. Jackson, whose family moved to the area in 1945 when she was seven, went there with her mother and grandmother. She recalled two flavors she loved back then — maple walnut and lemon.
“Hildebrandt’s is a special place for us to go. I was in the Brownies and the band, and after parades we would get free ice cream cones,” she said. “My mom took us there on special occasions. I took my kids. My son just recently took my grandson there.”
Hildebrandt’s, at 84 Hillside Ave., has not changed its look since it first opened in 1927. A restaurant and candy store, all the ice cream, toppings and chocolate are made on the premises. Joanne Strano, whose family has owned the store since 1974, said that the shop’s original candy maker, Henry Schriever, taught her late husband the intricacies of making ice cream and chocolates. Schriever, who lived into his 90s, recently died.
When they first took over the store, the Stranos quickly realized that they had to expand beyond ice cream and chocolate in order to survive. “I started learning to cook in large quantities,” she said. Now, in addition to selling 27 flavors of ice cream, the menu features a large selection of traditional Italian fare as well as contemporary American dishes.
Ice cream, however, remains a top priority. Tom Bauman, who makes the ice cream, says that the shop sells between 52 to 100 gallons of ice cream daily. He is constantly looking to develop new flavors. One of his favorites is his “Chocolate Quad,” a decadent concoction of chocolate ice cream, Oreo cookies, chocolate chips and fudge. “It is the ultimate chocolate,” he said.
Joanne Strano said Easter is Hildebrandt’s most important season. “We make bunnies, specialty items, using original molds from 1927,” she said. The candy is handmade and hand-decorated. “Customers come from all over the metropolitan area.”
For those who like to experience the ice cream at old-time establishments like Hildebrandt’s, it is important to be able to understand ice cream terminology. “An egg cream has no egg in it, only seltzer, syrup and milk,” Strano said. “A malted has malt powder, ice cream, milk and syrup. A shake, however, doesn’t have malt powder.”
