Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor and Museum

Take a step back in time at Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor and Museum, a long-time Columbus, Ind., landmark, that sits across the street from the Commons in downtown Columbus. It’s one of the few places in America where you can still enjoy a phosphate, a pipe organ and surroundings little changed from the turn of the 20th century.

Located about an hour from both Louisville and Indianapolis, the eatery started as Zaharako’s Confectionery in 1900, selling ice cream and candy. You can still sit on a swivel stool and get a real fountain cola or phosphate with a real rolled paper straw, just like a century ago, from the onyx soda fountain with “Zaharako Bros.” in stained glass. (The soda fountain’s Italian marble counter came from the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair!)

The restaurant’s a fabulous combination of old and new. The building sports a tin-pressed ceiling and an old-timey feel, but the menu is right up to date. The Classic “Diner-Style” Hamburger ($5.99) may prove to be the best you’ve ever had: a juice premium-beef patty served on a toasted Kaiser roll with lettuce, tomato, pickle and your choice of condiments. Fifty cents more turns it into a cheese burger. Or go with the local favorite: the Gom Cheese Brr-Grr, a cross between a cheeseburger and a Sloppy Joe grilled on thick-cut white bread ($5.49). These sandwiches are served with house-made potato chips. Or opt for heavenly fresh-cut French fries, served in a huge serving in a wire container ($2.99). Other sandwiches, as well as salads and soups, are available as well as hotdogs and more for children or those with smaller appetites. Wash down your food with a fountain soda or a phosphate to add to the experience. Zaharakos also serves breakfast. You can check out the menu here.

But be sure to leave room for the ice cream. You can order an ice cream float or an ice cream soda (both $2.49) or a milkshake ($3.99). A dish or cone of ice cream starts at $1.49, while a one-scoop sundae runs $3.49. A large party could share the Big “Z” — a whopping five large scoops of ice cream with a choice of sauces and toppings ($6.99).

Don’t be surprised if you hear a blast of calliope music all of a sudden! The Zaharako Brothers imported a player pipe organ from Freiburg, Germany, in 1908. The ornate, fully automatic organ boasts 184 pipes of wood, tin and brass and a snare drum, bass drum, cymbal and triangle. No wonder its technical name is an orchestrion, as it closely mimics a full orchestra! The historic, fully restored orchestrion plays from perforated paper music rolls, a technology that the manufacturer, M. Welte and Söhne, pioneered. The pipe organ was featured on the Today show in 1980.

If you have time, you can wander next door to the museum and view a restored 1870s orchestrion, a marble soda fountain from the 1850s, an antique cash register, an old-time popcorn machine and more.

- by Ivonne Rovira, Louisville Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Ivonne Rovira

A graduate of the prestigious Columbia University School of Journalism in New York City, Ivonne Rovira worked as a reporter for the Miami News, The Miami Herald and The Associated Press. She has written articles for The National Catholic Reporter and The Courier-Journal. For more than 15 years, Ivonne wrote and edited articles aimed at middle-school children.