Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ice Creameries
498
Doumar's Barbecue
Cone Sweet Cone
Norfolk, Virginia
Let the Italian gelato shops get snooty
about serving their creamy confections in
cones; the classic way to enjoy American
ice cream is by heaping it on top of a waf-
fle cone. And we have a Syrian immigrant
named Abe Doumar to thank for inventing
that cone. Legend has it that street vendor
Doumar invented the cone in a flash of
inspiration, shrewdly rolling up a neigh-
boring vendor's crisp waffle as an ad hoc
way to sell ice cream without serving
bowls at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
Soon after his World's Fair triumph, Dou-
mar opened an ice-cream cone stand in
Norfolk's Ocean View amusement park. His
brother George moved the business to this
site in 1934, expanding it into a new kind of
restaurant entirely—a drive-in restaurant, to
capitalize on America's nascent car culture.
George's son Albert, who ran the place for
years, still shows up most mornings to bake
cones on the original waffle machines,
though a younger generation of Doumars is
in charge these days.
With its carhops and curb service, Dou-
mar's Barbecue has a great sort of nostal-
gic
American Graffiti
ambience, and the
burgers and pulled-pork sandwiches are
local favorites. But as its historic roadside
sign proclaims—the name Doumar's
flanked by two giant neon ice-cream
cones—ice cream is still Doumar's calling
card. Inside, the look is classic soda shop,
with black-and-white checkerboard floors,
red leatherette booths with formica-
topped tables, and cherry-red steel stripes
running the length of the long counter.
Doumar's still serves a lot of ice cream in
waffle cones; in good weather, they even
take the cone-making machine out on the
