Well, what do you know? It's the Fourth of July weekend, a time for family gatherings, possible road trips, barbecues and fireworks. I can't stand holiday weekends like this as I am not big on celebrations. I love having my quiet time though. Give me a bottle of Jose Cuervo and I'm all good. Booze aside, the Fourth really implies something else other than the fact that it is our nation's birthday. It simply states that summer is in full swing and it's time for that one American treat and favorite past time. No, I'm not referring to the plethora of recent celebrity deaths, I'm talking about ice cream! Not just any ice cream either, my friends. There are two words in the English language that have never felt more alive for me: Soft serve! Who does soft serve ice cream better than Tastee Freez? Not very many!
This patriotic Tastee Freez is located at 2815 W. Armitage. If you live on the North Side or near Logan Square, this lone location is close enough to become a daily staple. Takes one to know one. I have been coming here non-stop every summer for two years straight.
Growing up in Ohio, I only ever got the chance to visit Dairy Queen, a nice little walk up in the Cleveland suburb of Euclid (that I probably will blog more about when I get to doing another ice cream/holiday feature). Tastee Freez was, unfortunately, very alien to me for many years until I met this cute little stand in the heart of Logan Square. I had often heard of it but it always eluded me. I am very charmed to say that that is the case no more.
Opening up in 1950, Tastee Freez had many old locations as you can see by the early 1950s Chicago Tribune ad (click on the image for a large close up at all locations) in the Chicago area as well as in other states. However, their locations have dwindled over the years including here in Illinois and the Chicago area in particular. While the only surviving North Side location seems to be the one on Armitage, I am happy to report that a few on the South Side still survive in original form, nonetheless, thanks to the peeks from Google Street View!
If you are interested to know about the Tastee Freez buildings that have morphed into other things, Debra Jane's Agility Nut is a great start. Page One is a great collection of locations that still remain intact all throughout their 1950s glory including the one on Armitage and this lovely one located in the suburbs. Page Two gets even more interesting as Debra Jane describes the interesting building prototype the company tried to adopt in later years, perhaps as an expansion of sorts. These A Frame buildings were adopted mostly on the West Coast. What I love the most is that they even had cool signs! Original black and white photos of a Tastee Freez in Rialto, California show another huge vintage sign (scroll down the page to see). In addition, there's also a FlickR photo of the one still open at 103rd and Ewing on the far South Side. If all else fails, you can also drive around the city to find many old locations still intact as something else.
Hmm, I wonder if I can BYOB my own tequila to put in a nice cake battered shake.....
6 comments:
Great post, Didi! We went to a Tastee-Freez in the Des Plaines/Mt. Prospect area that must have opened after the ad you display appeared. I know it wasn't the one at River and Higgins Roads. I'm pretty sure it was located on Elmhurst Road. It looked very similar to the Hillsville, VA location in Debra Jane's photos, and had the same cool diamond-shaped signs on the facade. I don't remember when it closed, but was still open in the early 70's.
Gosh I wish Tastee-Freez was still a major operator down South. They always played second fiddle to Dairy Queen, but had some memorable jingles and food. At least and old Tastee-Freez lives on as a mom-and-pop restaurant nearby when I get nostalgic for them.
Great stuff on this post. I had not known that a long time sub shop on Waukegan Rd in the north suburbs started life as a Tastee
Freez or that a franchise existed at Devon and Milwaukee across from Super Dawg.
I must confess, I visited for some hot dogs last Friday right after I posted this post! I can't stay away.
Dave, I'm thinking that either the location you are talking about did come after the ad or perhaps the ad didn't list >>>all<<< locations. This ad is, surprisingly, from 1959. If it came after the ad and was still there in the early 70s, it must not have lasted all too long. In fact, I wonder how long most of these lasted.
Ken, I think they played second fiddle to DQ here as well. Even though DQs don't have as big a presence as they once did here (though they are expanding back with new locations and buildings to boot in trendy neighborhoods). At least for me it was so much easier to find a Dairy Queen than a Tastee Freez and not just when I was a girl in Ohio. My old high school in Rogers Park was about two blocks away from one and I lived there my senior year. Sundaes werre my lunch!
Marty, I have not gotten a chance to examine all the former locations, but it's so cool there used to be one across from Super Dawg's. Years ago my father took me to a hot dog stand on Lincoln and Foster that I found out through this ad was an old Tastee Freez. The place is called Sandy's now and still has part of the Tastee Freez ice cream logo as its sign.
The Diversey & Central location (Chicago, IL) became a "Dairy Bar".
I have passed by that Diversy and Central locations many times and I think the Dairy Bar has now closed up shop, unfortunately. Thanks, Robert!
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