Dairy Queen invented their own machine in 1938 out of Illinois, possibly unaware of Carvel’s version. His melting ice cream was such a hit, that a light bulb went off and Tom invented and patented the first Soft Serve machine, to use in his brick and mortar store which he opened in 1936. Apparently Tom Carvel’s original ice cream truck broke down on a hot day in 1934, causing him to sell half-frozen ice cream to passersby. The idea of a softer, lighter, air-whipped version of ice cream is said to have been invented in New York State by Tom Carvel, founder of Carvel Ice Cream, home to the infamous Cookie Puss. This 1957-built Fosters Freeze in Hawthorne was a hangout of the early Beach Boys, and referred to in their song, “Fun, Fun Fun” (photo by Nikki Kreuzer) Though 85 locations still remain, a sliver of their original number, these Mom & Pop franchises are slowly disappearing as Los Angeles gets more corporate and homogenized. The little shoe box stands with plastic sliding take-out windows, concrete picnic tables and signs featuring a smiling ice cream cone, named Little Foster, are now decidedly vintage. These little huts instantly bring memories of fun, freedom, smiles and sticky fingers to the last few generations.
Here in California, since 1946, many of those idyllic magical spells were cast by a local Fosters Freeze. I scream, you scream, we all scream for… Soft Serve! Perhaps the words don’t roll off the tongue as romantically as ice cream, the much denser, higher milk-fat frozen treat that we all love and adore, but Soft Serve conjures up lazy days in the hot summer sun, road side stops with the parents after a day at the beach, dusty county fairs and, well, magic. Glenoaks Ave, was store #26, built in 1947 (photo by Nikki Kreuzer)
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