Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor

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Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor
Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor - 8586969156.jpg
Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor
Restaurant information
City Columbus
State Columbus, Indiana
CountryUnited States
Zaharakos Orchestrion Zaharakos Orchestrion.jpg
Zaharakos Orchestrion

Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor is a restaurant in Columbus, Indiana.

Contents

History

The restaurant was founded in 1900 by James, Lewis, and Pete Zaharako, three candymakers from Sparta, Greece, who opened it as a confectionary shop. [1] [2] [3] [4] After visiting the 1904 World's Fair, they added ice cream to their offerings. [1] By the early 1910s, they had added soda fountains, a mahogany backbar, and a 1908 Welte orchestrion. [1] [2] By the middle of the century, there was a self-service area. [1]

The restaurant closed in 2006 when the youngest generation of the Zaharako family weren't interested in continuing to run the business. [1] The orchestrion was sold to a California collector. [3]

In 2007, Tony Moravec, a local businessman, purchased and restored the restaurant, including purchasing the orchestrion from the collector who had bought it, at a total cost of $3.5 million and reopened it in 2009. [1] [5] [6] The family living quarters above the shop were also restored, and Moravec also opened the space next door as a museum of 19th-century soda fountains and mechanical musical instruments. [1] [7] As of 2019, the orchestrion was the only one in the country available for the public to hear play. [3] By 2013, the building had been named to the National Register of Historic Places. [8] [9]

Moravec died in 2022 and his son took over the business. [5] [10]

The restaurant is also known for its Gom Cheese Brr-grr, a type of sloppy joe or loose-meat sandwich with cheese. [6] [3] [8]

The restaurant was used as the primary set for Robert Moniot's short film The Ice Cream Man about Ernst Cahn, a Jewish ice cream parlor owner in Amsterdam whose arrest sparked the February Strike. [7] [11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Crichton, Ginger (May 26, 2021). "A Scoop of Americana in Columbus, Indiana". Midwest Living . Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Hartz, Michael (January 23, 2020). "Zaharakos: A Columbus favorite where history and tradition are served daily". WRTV . Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Caruthers, Teree (May 19, 2015). "Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor Serves Up Fizzy Business". My Indiana Home. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  4. Blair, Brian (August 25, 2022). "Hollywood producer from Seymour visits Zaharakos for video series". Seymour Tribune . Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Sanderson, Emily (November 17, 2023). "This hidden gem in Indiana has an old-school soda fountain and a banjo that plays itself". WLWT . Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Watson, Jenna (August 7, 2019). "The butter pecan, hot fudge sundae at Zaharakos will complete your summer". The Indianapolis Star . Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Columbus ice cream parlor ready for its close-up". Indiana Landmarks . May 10, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Blume, Aimee (June 4, 2013). "Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor continues sweet 110-year-old tradition". Courier & Press . Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  9. Jane, Tori (February 10, 2024). "The Historic Ice Cream Parlor In Indiana Where You Can Still Experience The Early 20th Century". Only in your state. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  10. "Business leader and preserver of historic Zaharakos dies". WKKG . November 10, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  11. "Story Of Jewish Resistance Fighter Targeted By The Infamous Butcher Of Lyon Wins Claims Conference Emerging Filmmaker Contest". Claims Conference . February 23, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2024.

39°12′08″N85°55′15″W / 39.2022°N 85.9209°W / 39.2022; -85.9209