Leopold's Ice Cream

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Coordinates: 32°04′42″N 81°05′21″W / 32.0784°N 81.0892°W / 32.0784; -81.0892

Leopold's Ice Cream
FormerlyLeopold's Purest Ice Cream
TypeRestaurant
FoundedAugust 18, 1919 (closed in 1969; reopened in 2004)
Founders• George Leopold
• Peter Leopold
Headquarters212 East Broughton Street, Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Number of locations
2
Owners• Stratton Leopold
• Mary Leopold
Websitewww.leopoldsicecream.com

Leopold's Ice Cream is an ice cream parlor located in Savannah, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1919 by two Greek-immigrant brothers,[1] George and Peter Leopold,[2] who had moved to Savannah from Brazil, Indiana,[3] to be near their sister, Demetra, who had married Savannah local George Paul Carellas.[3][4] The business was closed by current co-owner Stratton Leopold in 1969; he reopened it at a new location 35 years later with his wife.

History[]

Leopold's original location, Leopold's Purest Ice Cream, was at the northeastern corner of East Gwinnett Street and Habersham Street, a former fruit stand[5] in the Historic District - South, a few blocks east of Forsyth Park.[4] Peter Leopold, having just returned from serving in the First World War in France, was speaking to the owner of the fruit stand, a fellow Greek, while waiting for a streetcar. Leopold inquired about starting a business there, and shortly afterwards he and his older brother, George, bought the store, with Peter and his son, Stratton, living on the second floor.[5] They began selling chocolates, food and ice cream.[5] Basil Leopold joined them in 1925.[6][5]

The brothers utilized the French pot process they had learned from master confectioner James Peter Zarafonetis back in Indiana, making five- and ten-gallon batches of ice cream in-house from their own recipes and using fresh cream, milk and eggs from local dairy farms.[7]

The brothers remodeled the shop in 1935, modernizing it and launching an improved delivery service.[5]

Peter's youngest child, Stratton Leopold, took over the business with his mother, Marika, after his father's death in 1963 (George had died two years previous).[5][8] Stratton closed the shop in 1969,[5] and left Savannah for Hollywood, via New York City, where he is now a film producer, director and actor.[9] Ice cream and sweet treats continued to be served across town at Basil Leopold's Restaurant, which opened in 1962 at Medical Arts Shopping Center.[10][5] After her husband's death in 1981, Pina Leopold continued to run the store for a year, before selling the store and retiring.[10]

In August 2004, Leopold's moved to its present home on East Broughton Street, in Savannah's downtown,[2] where it is known for regularly having a line of customers waiting outside.[5][11] Stratton Leopold hired Hollywood production designer Dan Lomino to recreate his father's soda fountain from the original store.[11] The ice cream is made, using the same recipes developed by his father and uncle,[4] at a former wholesale florist building at 37th and Price Streets and brought over to the store as necessary.[5]

The company also has a kiosk and a full-service shop at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.[5]

Leopold's signature flavor is tutti frutti,[11] a favorite of Savannah's Johnny Mercer, who worked in the shop as a ten-year old, sweeping floors,[7][1] while former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's favorite is the butter pecan.[5] Carter wrote the foreword to Leopold's Ice Cream: A Century of Tasty Memories, 1919–2019 (Melanie Bowden Simón, 2020).[12]

The company celebrated its centenary on August 18, 2019, and held a block party the previous day.[5]

Gallery[]

  • A line outside the store in 2017

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Road Trip USA: In Savannah, heritage comes in many flavors" - USA Today, April 2, 2016
  2. ^ a b Our History - Leopold's Ice Cream official website
  3. ^ a b "100 Years of Delicious Memories" - South Mag, October 9, 2020
  4. ^ a b c "Leopold’s Ice Cream: A family affair" - Savannah Morning News, March 25, 2010
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Leopold’s Ice Cream celebrates 100 years" - Savannah Morning News, August 10, 2019
  6. ^ "Leopold's mourns family member" - WTOC.com, September 19, 2011
  7. ^ a b "Leopold’s Ice Cream: A Century of Tasty Memories" - Deep South Magazine, September 2, 2020
  8. ^ Peter Louis Leopold - Find A Grave
  9. ^ "A newcomer's guide to Savannah" - CNN Travel, November 8, 2017
  10. ^ a b Pina Leopold obituary - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 18, 2011
  11. ^ a b c "Best Soda Fountains in the U.S." - Food & Wine
  12. ^ "Southern Routes : New book gives the scoop on the history of Leopold's Ice Cream" - WJCL, February 6, 2020

External links[]

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