It was an oppressively warm summer’s day in 1945 when Alice Handel decided to treat her community. She figured the best way to help them cool down was to dole out cones of ice cream, and since her husband owned a local gas station, she already had a venue from which to serve it. So she plucked some fresh fruit from her garden and handcrafted a few batches of ice cream using recipes she knew by heart. Now decades later, her simple recipes have become the basis for Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream, a chain of ice cream parlors that spans seven states.
One branch of Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream sits right on Lancaster Ave in Berwyn, so make your way here at some point this summer. If you’re craving a s’more, dig into Handel’s version, the Graham Central Station ice cream. This popular flavor showcases real chunks of chocolate and graham crackers. Can’t choose just one flavor? Order a four-scoop sampler and taste-test the butter pecan, red velvet, mint chocolate chip, and deep-dish apple pie ice creams all at the same time.
