The Sweet Taste of Nostalgia

Having grown on Pleasure Island in the 1970s and 1980s, I used to enjoy dining at Tastee-Freez. The first Tastee-Freez on Pleasure Island was an ice cream/hot dog/hamburger stand in Carolina Beach with an order window and a pickup window. All of the seating was outdoors and the restaurant was open seasonally. Later some indoor dining space was created and the restaurant became a year-round restaurant. The owner later opened a second Tastee-Freez restaurant designed from the outset to be open year-round.

For a time, my family used to live within walking distance of the second location. I used to enjoy walking down to Tastee-Freez to order hotdogs, cheeseburgers, onion rings, French fries, and (of course) soft serve ice cream treats. My favorite treat was the parfait, but I also enjoyed sundaes, banana splits, milkshakes, and ice cream cones. And the restaurant also had a Space Invaders video game machine which saw its fair share of quarters from me and other members of my family.

The Tastee-Freez restaurants in Carolina Beach are long-gone. But I have fond memories of the franchise and my visits to the two restaurants. Very few Tastee-Freeze restaurants remain, although the Tastee-Freeze brand carries on as add-on offering for the Wienerschnitzel and Hamburger Stand chains.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit one of the remaining Tastee-Freeze restaurants. I didn’t get a parfait. Instead I went with a delicious, refreshing pina colada sundae featuring creamy vanilla soft serve ice cream, shredded pineapple, shredded coconut, banana slices, and whipped cream. It was delicious. It was glorious. It was a return to a simpler time.

If you are interested in learning more about the Tastee-Freez franchise and its history, click on the link below to be taken to the Wikipedia article. And below that is a link to the brand’s official website.

“Tastee Freez” Wikipedia article

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tastee-Freez

Tastee-Freez website

https://www.tastee-freez.com/