Aberdeen has long had a thriving Italian community bringing generations of family-run ice cream parlours to the city.
The city’s association with Italy dates back much farther than the recent Euros, with Italians first making the city home during the Victorian era.
Many more settled here after being kept as Prisoners of War during the Second World War.
In the years afterwards, Aberdonians were spoilt for choice when it came to Italian cafes and prize-winning parlours.
We’ve got the scoop on Aberdeen’s old ice cream parlours and cafes with a trip down memory lane into our archives.
Casa Marchini
Casa Marchini was an Aberdeen stalwart opened by Italian Joseph Marchini at 333 King Street in 1910.
Stepping into the beautiful parlour, customers would be greeted with the sweet scent of vanilla.
And many a child would be treated to a trip to Marchini’s as a sweetener after good behaviour at church on Sunday.
When it came to special occasions, Marchini’s ice cream cake could not be beaten.
Doug Corbett, left, took over Marchini’s when owner Aldo Alzepeida, right, retired in 1994 continuing the much-loved city business.
Mr Alzepeida was the grandson-in-law of founder Mr Marchini and in 1977 had modernised the business and introduced new flavours.
In 1988, Mr Corbett took Marchini’s to the West End, making the move from King Street after nearly 90 years to 481 Great Western Road.
The shop closed some years later.
Carcone’s
The Carcone family were Aberdeen Italians whose business was founded by Joseph Carcone after World War One.
Mr Carcone opened an ice cream, confectionary and cigarette shop at 11 Causewayend in Aberdeen, then the White Rose chip shop.
All Carcone’s ice creams were made to special secret family recipes, and family was at the heart of the business.
When he died in 1967, his children – Mary, Doreen, Vincent and Tony Carcone – vowed to continue the business.
They celebrated their golden jubilee in 1972 and the business continued to go from strength to strength under Vincent’s direction.
The family ran the Pavilion Cafe at Aberdeen Beach and opened Calcone’s Gold Medal Ice Cream factory in Nelson Street.
In 1988, Carcone’s won an award at the National Ice Cream Competition for having the best rum and raisin ice cream in Britain.
And again, the family celebrated success when Vincent Calcone took home the champion of champions awards in 1993.
When he retired in 1998, the family decided he was too hard an act to follow and closed the business.
Radar’s
Ice Dream on Schoolhill brought an infusion of American and Italian flavours to Aberdeen when it opened in 1977.
The venture was that of Aberdeen businessman Ian Harding who was inspired to bring Stateside sweet treats back to the north-east after a trip abroad.
He transformed a former stables, shed and yard at 28 Schoolhill into a trendy new parlour which aimed to offer 100 different flavours of Italian ice cream.
The premises may be more memorable to Aberdonians in its later incarnation Radar’s named after Mr Harding’s pet springer spaniel.
As well as serving up ‘Radar’s Colossal Ice Cream Creations’, the cafe’s offerings included spaghetti bolognaise and the famous Radarburger.
The Schoolhill site proved so popular that Radar’s Eating House later opened in bigger premises on Belmont Street, with a cocktail bar and live music.
The Holburn Cafe
The Holburn Cafe was a popular spot in the swinging sixties, but its history dated much farther back.
The Guilianotti family established the business at 53 Holburn Street in 1928.
Attilio Guilianotti learned his trade as a master confectioner in London before moving to the Granite City.
The family were credited with first introducing knickerbocker glories to Aberdeen.
The business changed hands in 1955 when Gloria Calicanti bought the cafe after marrying into the family.
Gloria ran the cafe with husband Alberto, and it became a busy meeting place for pupils of nearby schools who fancied a chilled treat, like Alasdair Stewart, above, in 1983.
The shop closed in 1990 when Gloria and Alberto retired.
At the time, Gloria said she would miss meeting her customers and the young teenagers romancing over ice cream sundaes.
She added: “I’ve seen generations of Aberdonians grow up through working in the shop.”
The Washington Cafe
The Washington Cafe at Aberdeen’s beachfront was founded by Emilio Bonici in the late 1920s when the esplanade shops were first built.
Mr Bonici was a “weel-kent” face in Aberdeen until his retirement in 1963 as he also owned the restaurant at The Capitol on Union Street.
It was a sad day when Mr Bonici stepped away from the cafe as he was also waving goodbye to the Silver City.
He moved back to his native Spezia in Italy having not been home since 1946.
The business was taken over by Vincent Canale and later his son Steven in the 1980s.
In this photo above, Anne Bowie samples one of the new flavours on offer at The Washington Cafe in 1980, the firm had introduced innovative Irn-Bru ice cream.
All the ice cream was homemade on the premises and the business won many gongs over the years at the Ice Cream Alliance Awards.
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