Snow can't stop Page's from opening in Pittsburgh to serve ice cream
It’s one of the first signs of spring — even on a snowy day.
Page Dairy Mart on the South Side — now called Page’s — opened for the season Wednesday.
“People wait months for opening day,” said Margie Page-Prusia, on Tuesday, as she tested the ice cream machine swirling a vanilla cone. “We are just as excited to see them.”
People were lined up at the corner of East Carson Street and Becks Run Road before 11 a.m. for ice cream sundaes, milkshakes or a steak hoagie, said her husband and co-owner Jared Prusia as he was checking the lights on the nacho machine and cookie display. One of the first customers was Sean Hayes of South Park.
He ordered a twist cone with scooter crunch toppings. He said he saw on social media it was opening Wednesday and a little snow wasn’t going to stop him.
“It’s good, old-fashioned ice cream,” Hayes said. “There’s a nostalgia to it.”
Customers wait all year for this, Jared Prusia said.
“One of the coolest parts is seeing grandparents bringing their children and grandchildren,” Jared Prusia said. “Generations of families have come here, and they remember the good times they’ve had enjoying ice cream and making memories.”
Page’s is celebrating 71 years of memories.
Page-Prusia’s father, Chuck Page, still works a few days a week cleaning out the ice cream machines and offering advice. Page-Prusia and her husband purchased the business from her dad in March 2020.
Chuck Page’s great-grandfather Charles Alexander Page founded Page Dairy Mart in 1951. His great-great-grandfather bought the land from the Hays family in 1916. The Page family is from West Mifflin.
Chuck Page supplies the wisdom, his son-in-law said.
“It’s a family business, and we treat people well,” Chuck Page said. “And our product is far different than anyone else’s.”
The ice cream shop is traditionally open from March to late October. This past offseason they purchased a grill, ovens and two registers for faster checkout time. They will take credit cards.
A brand new neon red and yellow sign will be illuminated daily in the front of the shop, which is hoping to be part of the Pittsburgh Monopoly game coming this fall.
Page’s averages 4,000 cones a month in spring and fall and 6,000 or more a month in summer. They’ve been known to wait on 60 people in 13 minutes and will take care of customers after closing time.
This year, Page’s is sponsoring a $3,000 college scholarship for an employee. Maggie Zandiere, a sophomore at Chatham University in Shadyside, said Page-Prusia is a boss who cares about her employees.
“It’s a family-oriented business and you feel like you are part of the family,” Zandiere said.
Emily Synowiec, of Brookline, said it’s fast paced but she likes that kind of environment.
At the busiest times —-summer evenings of 70 and 80 degrees —there are eight people working behind the counter.
Page’s serves cones, ice cream sandwiches and “Arctic Swirls” — ice cream combined with candies (Oreos, Butterfinger, Heath Bars and Reese’s Cups) and other goodies such as cookie dough, and cinnamon toast crunch and banana bread.
In addition to ice cream, milkshakes and sundaes, Page’s makes hamburgers and steak hoagies and mozzarella sticks. The plan is to add an Italian hoagie, some specialty soft-serve flavors and gourmet ice cream bars. They also have dairy-free options.
The cost of an ice cream cone is $2.57.
Customers should be on the lookout for a Large Marge Sundae coming soon. Page-Prusia is still deciding on the ingredients. But it will definitely have something chocolate, her favorite. Pittsburgh-based Turner Dairy Farms and Page’s will be collaborating on a chocolate milkshake in April.
Page’s uses fresh baked goods for its sundaes, such as moist brownies, soft cinnamon buns and large pieces of the famously huge 4-inch-wide chocolate chip cookies from Nancy B’s Bakery in West Homestead.
They go through more than 600 chocolate chip cookies in a week.
Page said the Nancy B’s owner Nancy Bertram Runco, who died in January, was the “most wonderful woman.” He added that her son Michael Runco is doing an amazing job honoring the legacy of his mother.
“We love supporting other local businesses,” Page said. “It’s great cross-branding. I say they aren’t the best cookie in the world. They are the best cookie in the universe.”
Runco called Page’s an iconic Pittsburgh place.
“They treat customers like family which is what my mother also did.,” Runco said. “I have seen the long lines and watched them wait on customers. They are so efficient Everything is made to order. Page’s is about the experience of standing outside, listening to traffic noise and feeling the breeze. It’s an atmosphere. It’s Pittsburgh.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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