Eric Simmons, age 10, jumped up from his chair, dangerously close to overturning the ice cream treat he was enjoying while sitting at a table outside Milwaukee Frozen Custard in Manassas.
Eric’s mother, LaTonya, had brought Eric and his two siblings, Amyra, age 8 and Kayen, age 5, to the shop for what she called a healthy, low-cost treat.
“We’ve been here thousands of times,” Eric said, enthusiastically interrupting his mother. “It’s great and good and creamy!”
As families forego vacations and visits to higher-cost events and amusements, more are joining the Simmonses in seeking old-fashioned, economical ice cream treats as an added bonus to family time.
Although area ice cream shop owners won’t publicly comment on their revenues, many said families’ visits to their shops are what have saved them in this down economy. Some also privately note that though sales are down, costs for ingredients, marketing and advertising are up. The shop owners said they were looking for cost-cutting alternatives — fewer employees, no pay raises — that wouldn’t affect the quality or cost of their products.
That’s because the owners hope that once families rediscover the joy of ice cream outings, they will continue to visit their shops once the economy rebounds.
Linda Utterback, executive director of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association in Elk Grove Village, Ill., said many of the approximately 15,000 ice cream shops in the U.S. were holding their own financially or even seeing increases — again with thanks to many families — during these down financial times.
“It’s a comfort food and it’s affordable,” she said. “I took my grandsons to the movies and it cost $72 including bottled water and popcorn. A family of four can go for ice cream for under $20.”
The great news is in the Washington, D.C. area — a region known for its startlingly high prices on many goods — the price for ice cream may actually cost a fraction of what Utterback estimated. At Nathan’s Dairy Bar in Manassas, a generously large “small” cone or dish of ice cream is only $2.15. Many other shops offer similar bargains and supplement them with weekly or seasonal specials that bring folks to their stores.
