By Pam George
JulieAnne Cross is well-known as the founder of the Delaware Burger Battle, scheduled for Aug. 23 this year. However, Cross often craves a Delaware delicacy that is cold, not hot. Each year, she is one of the first to note the Dairy Palace’s seasonal debut. The New Castle ice cream stand has been in business since 1954, when it initially opened as a Dairy Queen. Cross has been a customer since 1988, when she lived in Kent County.
“A colleague brought me there on a work visit, and I’d go anytime I was up north,” recalls Cross. “I was a black-and-white shake girl then. The big dollop of vanilla ice cream in the middle of the shake was always my favorite. Now I’m a twist-cone-with-rainbow-sprinkles girl.”
The Dairy Palace is not the only landmark that puts nostalgia in a cone. Working north to south, here’s the background on some of Delaware’s oldest ice cream establishments.
Everything and the Kitchen Sink: The Charcoal Pit
Kaytie Dowling Brownstein’s childhood memories are “punctuated with ice cream at The Charcoal Pit,” she says. “Swim team victories were celebrated with a Kitchen Sink (we never finished one), and school dances always ended with a black-and-white shake (we never left one unfinished).”
The Brandywine Hundred restaurant was founded in 1956 by the Sloan brothers — Sam, Marty, Lou and Aaron — who also started The Dog House in New Castle. An ad in The News Journal (formerly Journal-Every Evening) touted “sundaes with a high school education.” Take, for instance, the Red Devil for Wilmington High School and the Sallies for Salesianum High School.
The restaurant still has its mid-century façade, however, during the past year The Pit redesigned the scholastic-inspired sundaes to match the colors and mascots of each school, says Mary Avilez, the restaurant’s manager. “We changed the ingredients and made them bigger and more extravagant. However, the Kitchen Sink remains the same as always and is still enjoyed by many.”
Ingredients include 20 scoops of ice cream, arranged in a tower-style, banana spears, crushed cherries, crushed pineapple, and walnuts. It’s topped with whipped cream and cherries.
“The Kitchen Sink was designed to be shared,” Avilez says. “It is big enough for at least four people to eat. It was a way to bring the kids in after sporting events, dances and plays. If the kids come in and enjoy themselves, the parents won’t be far behind.”
As Brownstein observes, it’s challenging to finish the entire dessert. Jenna Montgomery would agree. “The Kitchen Sink defeated a solid attempt by four of us, then teenage girls.”
Avilez says the black-and-white is the top-selling shake, perhaps that’s because you can pair with a grilled Pit Special — a burger, special relish and fries.
From Cow to Cone: Woodside Farm Creamery
Nestled in the green hills of Hockessin, Woodside Farm dates to 1796, when the Mitchell family purchased it. It received a Century Farm Status in the 1990s.
Dairy was part of the Mitchells’ operations, but the family ceased production in 1961. In 1991, Jim and Janet Mitchell purchased long-lashed Jersey cows, which are known for their rich milk. Ice cream became a natural addition to the dairy offerings, and the stand opened in 1998. In 2009, the farm was named the Family-Owned Business of the Year by the Small Business Administration.
The ability to eat ice cream while watching the source saunter across a field is a main draw to the farm. For Shelia Lindsey and her children, visits to Woodside Farm Creamery were a summer tradition.
“We sat at one of the picnic tables under the large tree against the stone farmhouse,” she says. “The cows are at the fence in the parking lot. It was more than just ice cream, but a family memory.”
However, over the years, wild flavors have become another attraction. Take, for instance, Motor Oil, a coffee-based ice cream swirled with fudge and glossy, green-tinted caramel. (The flavor is also available at The Ice Cream Store in Rehoboth — more on that later.)
Other popular flavors have included Cappuccino Crunch, Chocolate Thunder, and Cookies & Cream. But even plain vanilla wins high praise. You can’t go wrong with a high butterfat content.
Back to the ’50s: Dairy Palace
It might seem unusual to find an ice cream stand on the National Register of Historic Places. But as Cross notes, the establishment is a summer tradition for many Delawareans. Vince and Joyce Parker purchased the Dairy Queen in 1956. In 1970, when the corporation decided to modernize, the Parkers bought the property to preserve its appearance.
Dairy Palace’s specialty is soft-serve ice cream, which is dispensed from a machine and not scooped from a tub. It contains less milk fat and more air, resulting in a silky, creamy texture. Some credit Charles Taylor’s automatic ice cream machine for the increased popularity of soft-serve in the 1920s. Carvel Ice Cream was founded in 1934, while Dairy Queen debuted in 1940.
Many faithful fans visit Dairy Palace for the chocolate-vanilla swirl, which is available in a cone or as a milkshake. Unusual shake flavors include butterscotch, blueberry and pineapple. “The pineapple shake at Dairy Palace is my #1 comfort food and nothing comes close,” wrote one person on Facebook. “It’s so simple yet so easily screwed up by the lesser ice cream places.”
Old-Fashioned Fun: King’s Homemade Ice Cream
In 1972, Earl King opened King’s Homemade Ice Cream in an old general store in Milton. The picturesque structure with the peaked roof dates back to 1830, making it the oldest commercial building in continuous use in Sussex County. Initially, business was slow, Earl told The Morning News in 1983. But it didn’t take long for people to discover the hidden gem.
Montgomery’s family stopped at King’s Homemade Ice Cream in Milton for a tub of banana ice cream en route to their Broadkill Beach abode. “It was a staple in our beach house freezer and such a treat to enjoy a scoop whenever,” she says. “Sometimes, a tub would travel north in a well-packed cooler to savor a taste of the beach back home in Wilmington.”
Earl’s son, Tom, and Tom’s wife, Chris, opened the Lewes location in 1981. It was initially in the current Hotel Rodney. One year later, the business relocated to its current Second Street location — a building with sections dating back to before the Revolutionary War.
“I love King’s in both locations, but there is something so quaint about the original location in Milton,” says customer Karen Falk. “They add so much to this historic town. Their Dutch chocolate is amazing!”
Area resident Melinda Girardi loves the peach ice cream made with Fifer Orchards peaches. Other recommendations included coffee, pineapple sherbet, mint chocolate chip, strawberry, butter brickle, and coffee, which Earl used to make with Maxwell House. Another flavor, King’s peanut crunch ice cream, was listed in the book The Very Best Ice Cream and Where to Find It. (The Hotel du Pont’s honeydew melon ice cream was also listed.)
From Bacon Maple Crunch to Boogers: The Ice Cream Store
The Hearn family knows something about ice cream. At one time, they owned multiple stores in Delaware, including the Dairy Queen on Lewes Beach and Tastee Freeze locations. (They also owned the Country Squire on Rehoboth Avenue and The Starboard in Dewey Beach.) So, it’s not surprising that Chip Hearn got the entrepreneurial bug at an early age. As a high school student, he sold water ice from a table, according to an article on RehobothFoodie.com.
While studying business at the University of Virginia, he turned his class project into a marketing plan for the ice cream business the Hearns were opening in a former potato chip specialty store. Back then, shops that didn’t make their own ice cream contracted with a company. If the supplier closed or merged, the shop had to find new vendors. To avoid any brand confusion, the students came up with The Ice Cream Store, which opened in 1970.
It wasn’t until Hearn and his father, Luther, met Jim and Janet Mitchell of Woodside Farm Creamery that the business achieved fame outside Delaware. At the time, the Hearns wanted to sell hot sauces in grocery stores without paying exorbitant shelf fees. Since produce departments lacked this pay-to-play policy, the father-son duo attended a produce show, where they met the Mitchells.
Chip Hearn shared his dream for The Ice Cream Store. “I said, ‘I want to make the best vanilla, the best chocolate.’ And [Jim Mitchell] said, ‘I do make that.’ I said, ‘I know you do, Jimmy, but I want to do something completely different,’” Hearn recalls.
What’s different? Hearn would later come up with Boogers, a green-colored ice cream with a green caramel swirl and marshmallow bits. The kooky concoction landed in National Geographic Kids.
Today, The Ice Cream Store offers more than 100 flavors, including Better Than Sex, which contains Duncan Hines Devil’s Food Cake Mix and vanilla from Madagascar. Hearn gets ideas from the contacts he makes at ConeCon, sponsored by the North American Ice Cream Association.
“When I can’t do it well or Jimmy can’t do it well — because we don’t know the trick — someone at the championships will tell me the trick,” he says. In addition to Woodside, Hearn counts on other suppliers. For instance, a Brooklyn company makes vegan ice cream.
If the city approves the 92-room Belhaven Hotel, the Ice Cream Store will temporarily close at that site. Hearn, who supports the project, is seeking an alternative Rehoboth Avenue location to occupy during the construction. If all goes well, he says he’ll keep both.
Because, evidently, customers can never get enough ice cream.
Scoop! There It Is
Your guide to sweet spots from the city to the coast.
Wilmington / Hockessin
Charcoal Pit
2600 Concord Pike, Wilmington
CharcoalPit.net
Dairy Palace
2 Jay Dr, New Castle
Facebook.com/DairyPalaceDE
Dino’s Ice Cream
6 S Union St, Wilmington
DinosIceCreamTruck.com
Ice Cream Delight
1 Ice Cream Dr, Wilmington
IceCreamDelightDe.com
The Ice Cream Shoppe
700 Philadelphia Pike, Wilmington
TheIceCreamShopp.com
Sweet Lucy’s
3201 Concord Pike, Wilmington
SweetLucysIceCreamAndTreats.com
Sweet Nel’s
3901 Concord Pike, Wilmington
SweetNels.com
Woodside Farm Creamery
1310 Little Baltimore Rd, Hockessin
WoodsideFarmCreamery.com
Newark / Middletown
Caffe Gelato
90 E Main St, Newark
CaffeGelato.net
Cowgirl’s Creamery at Emerson Farms
1049 Jamison Corner Rd, Middletown
Facebook.com/CowgirlsCreameryAtEmersonFarms
Martha’s Ice Cream
873 N Broad St, Middletown
MarthasIceCream-De.com
Middletown Creamery
Ashley Plaza, 405 E. Main St, Middletown
MiddletownCreamery.com
Somerset Farm
3198 Frazer Rd, Newark
UDairy Creamery
535 S College Ave, Newark
UDel.edu/creamery
Beach Area
Dickey’s Frozen Custard
110 Boardwalk, Bethany Beach
Hopkins Farm Creamery
18186 Dairy Farm Rd, Lewes
HopkinsFarmCreamery.com
The Ice Cream Store
6 Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth Beach
RehobothBeachIceCream.com
King’s Homemade Ice Cream
201 2nd St, Lewes
KingsHomemadeIceCream.com
Kohr Bros.
5 Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth
KohrBros.com
Kilwin’s
140 Rehoboth Ave, Rehoboth Beach
Kilwins.com
Marigold Creamery
720 Kings Hwy, Lewes
MarigoldCreamery.com
Maureen’s Ice Cream & Desserts
99 Garfield Pkwy, Bethany Beach
MaureensIceCream.com
Vanderwende Farm Creamery
4003 Seashore Hwy, Bridgeville
VanderwendeFarmCreamery.com
Pam George has been writing about Delaware’s dining scene for two decades, and in 2023 received a Community Impact Award from the Delaware Restaurant Association. She is also the author of Shipwrecks of the Delaware Coast: Tales of Pirates, Squalls and Treasure, Landmarks & Legacies: Exploring Historic Delaware, and First State Plates: Iconic Delaware Restaurants and Recipes. She lives in Wilmington and Lewes.
Above: Sweet treats on display by Woodside Farm Creamery crew members (l-r): Alexa Vito, Caden Walters, Sammie Kowalski. Photo by Joe Hoddinott.