Yes. It’s THAT Gifford’s.
The much beloved ice cream store, which originally opened in 1938 and became the go-to ice cream parlor for generations of Washingtonians, made a quiet comeback this spring with two new locations.
“Almost everyday someone comes in and sticks their head in and says, ‘Is this the same Gifford’s?’ ” said Neal Lieberman, co-owner of the nearly 70-year-old brand.
After years of flying under the radar — from 1987 on, the only remaining Gifford’s was a small Bethesda store — the locally based chain will re-establish itself with 10 to 15 new stores throughout the region over the next five years. The brand, which includes homemade ice cream and candy, is also offering its products online and in various restaurants throughout Washington.
“Gifford’s is a Washington institution,” Lieberman said. “But a lot of people didn’t know we were still around. … This was an opportunity to take a great brand that’s been undermarketed.”
Gifford’s, originally owned by John Nash Gifford, had six ice cream parlors open in Virginia and Maryland at the height of its popularity. But the Gifford family’s financial difficulties forced them to sell the rights to the name in a bankruptcy auction in the early 1980s and close the stores. The Hunt family bought the Gifford’s name and reopened a single location in 1987, but “it was really just a hobby for them,” Lieberman said.
Marcelo Ramagem, 30, who was a Gifford’s manager under the Hunts, eventually bought Gifford’s and, in 2004, Lieberman, 40, bought half the company. The pair opened a location in Northwest D.C. at 10th and E streets in May and a Chevy Chase location in July. A Rockville store is set to open in March of next year. The additional ice cream parlors haven’t been planned yet, but Lieberman is hoping to open near sites of the original Gifford’s, which included Arlington and Silver Spring. One thing is for sure, he said: The brand will not grow beyond the Washington region.
“Gifford’s really could have been what Baskin-Robbins or Ben & Jerry’s became, but it went in a different direction,” Lieberman said. “[Gifford’s] was before the era of Starbucks. You really hung out there and you went there for all your special occasions. What it comes down to is, it’s your parlor. You can’t find it in other cities.”
