At the Trolley Car Ice Cream Shoppe, local residents can enjoy a unique ice cream eating experience. The Ice Cream Shoppe is a 1948 trolley car that has been converted into an ice cream stand. Here customers can choose from a variety of ice cream and water ice flavors to help satisfy their sweet tooth.
The Trolley Car Diner owners, Ken and Judy Weinstein, purchased the sixty-two year old trolley car at an auction. It was meant to be a "companion" to their fully restored 1952 diner, which had been transported in 1999 to Philadelphia from Wilkes Barre, PA. In July 2003 the Trolley Car Ice Cream Shoppe was completed and became one of the most recognizable historical landmarks in the area.
John Ceccatti, a Mt. Airy resident, has been going to the Trolley Car Ice Cream Shoppe with his daughter Isabelle for a couple years now. “We come here pretty much everyday,” said Ceccatti. “The ice cream is good and the people who work here are fun.”
On a warm Labor Day afternoon Ceccati and his daughter had decided to take their Pomerania, Popeye, out for a walk. Along their way they stopped for soft serve chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone, which is their favorite frozen desert from the trolley. “Sometimes I get my own, sometimes we share,” said Ceccatti. Whether sharing or getting their own cone, father and daughter both agree that the ice cream is a “yummy” treat.
The Trolley Car Ice Cream Shoppe has been a big hit for several summers, but the Summer of 2010 has been very lucrative for the shoppe due to the extensive heat waves that have hit the Philadelphia area this year. Fifteen -year-old Colti is one of the shoppe's ice cream servers and has been working their part-time for the summer. She has seen both local and non-local residents come and go from the stand, but believes that the summer heat has caused to keep coming back for more. "We have had a lot of customers," said Colti. “The heat wave has helped it stay busy here."
However it is not just the tasty frozen treats, the great service or the heat that draws in customers far and wide, but also the shoppe's unique and historical structure. "We actually have a lot of people coming up here taking pictures of the trolley all the time," said Colti. In fact if you google search Trolley Car Ice Cream Shoppe hundreds of customer photographs will appear in your search. Some of which include people posing in front of the trolley or eating one of their delicious ice cream treats. These images are not only proof of the shoppe's customer satisfaction, but also proves that using a 1948 trolley as an ice cream shop is not quite as bizarre of an idea after all.
Next time you are driving down Germantown Avenue, make sure to stop by the Trolley Car Ice Cream Shoppe. It will not only be a tasty and relaxing stop, but it will be your own glimpse at a piece of Philadelphia history.
To find out more information about the Trolley Car Diner Deli and Ice Cream Shoppe, please visit their website or call 215.753.1500.
By Lisa Wilk and Keisha Frazier
1 comment:
What I really love about the Trolley Car Diner and Ice Cream Shoppe is that they capitalize on the rich Regional Rail present and trolley history of Mt. Airy and nearby Chestnut Hill. They are the perfect combination for parts of the city that were built around rail transit.
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