By Tim Kelly
The loyal customers of Annie’s Carousel Ice Cream will always be there. That’s probably because Annie’s is always there for them.
“We try to keep everything the same, because that’s what our customers want and that’s what we do best,” said Anne Marie Allegretto, better known to all as “Annie.”
“We’ve tried hot dogs; we’ve tried funnel cake and a few other things. But that’s not what our customers come here for.”
They come for the ice cream, the experience and the memories. It’s an Ocean City tradition as predictable as the tides.
Operating out of a tiny, picturesque 108-year-old building at 332 Atlantic Avenue, Annie’s keeps things simple: 30 flavors of ice cream, milkshakes, malteds, soda, water ice, pretzels and cookies. Ice cream comes in a dish or a plain or waffle cones and just a few types of toppings are offered. They also come for reasonable prices: $3.75 for a generous cone.
The most popular flavor is vanilla salted caramel chocolate covered pretzel. “When people start to ask me for it I stop them so they don’t have to say the whole name,” said Annie. The ice cream comes from two primary suppliers: Breyers and Island, out of Wildwood.
The rock of stability is Allegretto, who began working at the shop at age 11. She continued to work there throughout her adolescence and adulthood and eventually married the former owner, Peter Chelf.
Her husband passed away from cancer a few years ago, and she eventually re-married B.J. Allegretto – who also lost his first spouse to cancer. The good friends came together to support each other, grew closer and fell in love.
The rest is Ocean City ice cream history. The couple, both Ocean City High School grads, have six children between them from their first marriages, some of whom work in the business.
“I help out, but it’s really all about (Annie),” B.J. said. “She is the icon.”
If you spend any time at the shop you can see why. If the ice cream falls out of the cone onto the ground (“it happens about six times a week”) Annie replaces it for free. If things aren’t too busy, she will let children come behind the counter and scoop out their own ice cream.
“Kids love that and I love making kids happy. That’s one of the really great things about this business- making people happy,” she said.
Count Christine Lydic among the happy ones. “We come down for three weeks each summer, so we are here a lot,” said Lydic, of Marlton, who was bringing her toddler son Jason for his very first visit. “The people are nice, it’s local to us and the service is great.”
Also on hand were Lydic’s parents Vicki and Mike Delo, also of Marlton; and Mike’s cousin Steve Grappy of Erie Pa. All were enjoying the ice cream, and the atmosphere of Annie’s.
The building is an attraction in its own right. Dwarfed by its neighboring buildings, one can’t help but notice the building sags along the doorway and roofline. On most nights, customers sit on the benches outside to eat their treats, and take selfies in front of the shop.
“They call it the crooked ice cream shop, but it withstands all of the worst weather,” Annie said. “During Sandy the water came right up to the front step and stopped right there, short of the door.”
The shop is open daily from 3 to 11 p.m. from mid-May (usually the weekend before Memorial Day weekend),” Annie says, and it closes after Labor Day. “We have found that 90 percent of our business comes from visitors.”
During the off-season, Annie and B.J. reside in Florida.
On most hot evenings in-season, a line will form outside the door and stretch all the way to the corner of 4th and Atlantic. On July 4th, the line was constant for three hours, Annie said.
“We have seen little babies grow up over the years and now they are bringing their kids here and their kids are just as passionate about coming here as their parents,” said B.J. “That’s the great thing about Ocean City. Great people. Happy people. People who love it here. They like our ice cream but it’s also a nostalgia thing for a lot of people. And our prices are hard to beat. People work hard for their money and they can come here with four or five people, everyone gets what they want and you only spend twenty dollars.”
One amazing aspect of the shop is it attracts so many people despite a dearth of parking. There is exactly one spot in front of the building.
“People walk and they ride bikes, and sometimes they drive and stop in a no parking zone and stay with the car while someone else runs in for the ice cream,” said Annie.
“People tell me they feel good about the walk. They feel better (about eating the ice cream). I hear that all the time.”
