Is Philly too hot for frozen treats?
It’s another scorcher in the Philadelphia region. But that’s not necessarily bad news … for ice cream sales.
Ice cream weather starts around 80 degrees. Over 100, and business slows down. In between is the sweet spot for ice cream sales.
That assessment comes from the staff of Franklin’s Fountain in Old City.
“Ninety to 95 degrees is generally … probably our busiest,” says soda jerk Kevin Paschall. “After that, it’s kind of up to how long people are willing to stand in line.”
The old fashioned ice-cream parlor doesn’t have air-conditioning.
Nonetheless, “the ice cream’s in good shape,” reports shop owner Ryan Berley. “I just scooped some. It’s nice and hard.”
“Now, by the end of the day, they’ll have been opening those cabinets hundreds of times. It will start to get a little softer,” he said Tuesday, when the temperature was expected to hit the high 90s.
Customers just after noon were true ice cream devotees.
“As soon as we got outside, we just started sweating,” reported a youthful Jasmine Rename, in town from New Jersey with her family.
“You can eat it in the cold, the heat. You can eat it all the time,” said fellow customer, Skye Michaels.
They and other ice cream enthusiasts can look forward to high temperatures for the rest of the week.
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