Carvel Ice Cream Store May Be Razed
Monday August 6, 8:30 am ET
By Jim Fitzgerald, Associated Press Writer
New York Store Where Tom Carvel First Sold Ice Cream May Be Razed by Current Owners
HARTSDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- There is no plaque on the wall at the ice cream store where Tom Carvel first plied his trade, and if the current owner has his way the building itself will be destroyed.
Abdol ***hihi and his co-owner have applied for permission to knock down the store on busy Central Avenue and replace it with a restaurant and three retail stores -- which might or might not include a Carvel store.
But he thinks Carvel, who died in 1990, would approve.
"He would be all right with this because he believed in modernity," said ***hihi, as he sold Flying Saucers and Brown Bonnets last week. "He knew there is value in change, just as there is value in holding onto the past."
Carvel was driving an ice cream truck on Central Avenue in 1934 when a flat tire forced him to the side of the road. He began offering the ice cream to passers-by, sold out quickly and decided there was a future in selling from one spot.
Within two years, he had bought a pottery store at the location and converted it into an ice cream stand. Today, there are more than 570 franchises in 26 states, Puerto Rico and Canada.
Carvel became a celebrity when he started doing his own gravel-voiced TV commercials for ice cream cakes called Cookie Puss and Fudgie the Whale.
The original store has been renovated and now has the look of a classic glassed-in Carvel from the 1950s.
***hihi says his ice cream sales have held steady in recent years, but that costs and taxes have skyrocketed. He's willing to keep the place open during the approval process, which a Town of Greenburgh building inspector said might take a year or more.
***hihi, 55, said he runs two other Carvel franchises in White Plains and Yonkers that do better. He also teaches history and economics at Evander Childs High School in the Bronx.
***hihi said he has suggested that Carvel, now part of Focus Brands, undertake a preservation effort, "maybe turn it into a museum," but found no interest. Because he has 1.5 mostly unused acres, development is the only solution, he said.
Corporate spokeswoman Jennifer McLaughlin said she knew nothing about a museum proposal.
She said ***hihi's demolition plans made the company "very nostalgic" but the wrecking-ball decision was up to the franchisee. She said she was not aware of any efforts to prevent the razing.
She said, however, "We've received lots of calls from customers expressing sadness at seeing the building go."
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