Sweet addition to the Pier

Soda Jerks, an old-time soda fountain, opened less than two weeks ago on the historic Santa Monica Pier, according to L.A. Weekly.

Because setting up a real soda fountain — the kind with historically accurate egg creams; 18 flavors of ice cream from Fosselman’s, the Alhambra ice cream shop where McCaffrey held his first job; 14 specialty sundaes, including the Route 66 banana split; soda jerks dressed as if they escaped from a 1930s department store, or a Woody Allen movie about one — takes time.

Soda Jerks is in a 1916 building that houses a retro carousel, and the restaurant includes a 1905 candy case that once graced a country store in Oklahoma. So the retro vibe isn’t just cosmetic.

It’s nice that the 66-to-Cali souvenir stand also has some company with another business that pays tribute to the Mother Road at the traditional endpoint of Route 66.

2 thoughts on “Sweet addition to the Pier

  1. Fosselman’s is awesome and may make it worth a trek off of 66 for me!

    I WAS going to knock your use of the word “traditional” in the last sentence, too. But in looking it up to formalize my complaint, I see that traditional can, in essence, equate to mythical and does not have to pertain to the facts. So I guess I just have to comment that I would have worded that much differently myself.

    Either way, Fosselman’s is some darn good ice cream!

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