Last week, for my birthday, my girlfriend and I went to Jahn’s, a restaurant & ice cream parlor located in Jackson Heights, Queens.
The original Jahn’s opened up way back in 1897. By the mid-20th Century, Jahn’s had locations all over New York City, as well as Long Island, New Jersey, and Florida. Unfortunately, within recent years, only two Jahn’s ice cream parlors remained, the Jackson Heights one, and a location in Richmond Hill. And in 2007, the Richmond Hill Jahn’s closed. All of the old fashioned period décor was bought up by a collector in the Midwest.
So the last remaining Jahn’s is the one in Jackson Heights. There was a fire at that location a few decades back, so regrettably the look of the place is more 1970s than turn-of-the-century. Putting aside the minor issue of appearance, Jahn’s is a fabulous place to visit. The food is, I will admit, your typical diner fare, i.e. good but nothing especially outstanding. No, really, the reason to visit Jahn’s is the ice cream. They have a huge menu of delicious sundaes. And the serving sizes for the ice cream are huge.
My girlfriend, who grew up in Queens, introduced me to Jahn’s a couple of years ago. We’ve been there a few times. Usually we go for a light lunch or dinner, followed by ice cream sundaes. This time around, I got a pizza burger, and my girlfriend had a quiche. Then it was time to dig in to the ice cream. Afterwards, we were stuffed. It was a nice way to spend my birthday, having sundaes with my girlfriend.
I didn’t bring my camera along with me, but below are a few photos from a prior visit. My girlfriend took a few pics with her cell phone camera, so I’ll probably post those later on Facebook.
Jahn’s is located at 81-04 37th Avenue, Jackson Heights NY 11372. It is well worth a visit, especially on hot summer days like these. The ice cream sundaes are the perfect way to beat the heat.
Wow, I didn’t know Jahn’s still existed. I grew up going to the one on 86th Street in Bensonhurst. Loved their hot fudge sundaes. I remember they had something called “the kitchen sink”. Went on many a date there.
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Ben, I saw a comment on another WordPress Blog about ice cream. Thanks for writing about Jahn’s. I AM in the Jackson Heights section of Queens once or twice a month, so I definitely need to check out their ice cream.
Oh, and yes, you must do a write up about Eddie’s Sweet Shop! I have only been there a handful of times, but every time has been wonderful.
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Thank you for the kind words. I hope you have an opportunity to visit Jahn’s before the end of the summer. It is well worth the visit. And, as requested, I just did a write-up on Eddie’s tonight, which you can now see on my blog. Hope you enjoy it.
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Ben, thank you so much for doing that. I look forward to reading it before I go to bed tonight.
As for Jahn’s, if not before the end of the Summer, then I shall visit it before the end of the year. For me, ice cream is a yearly pleasure, not just for the Summer.
Thanks, again, Ben.
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I remember in the 1960’s going to the Richmond Hill location for a free ice cream on my birthday…Now that was a long time ago!
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I have a menu from Jahn’s. It must be old. The Kitchen Sink was $6.50, a banana split was 85 cents, a hot roast beef sandwich with fries and a vegetable was $1.60. Any idea what year this might be? The menu is in great shape. I would like to get it in the hands of someone that would care for it. I’m rarely in NY but will go to Jahn’s next time I’m there.
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For some reason I looked this place up today. My father worked at the Richmond Hill store when I was little. I’m flooded with memories that bring tears to my eyes. I loved the Nickelodeon.
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I went to Bowne High School in the 60’s. After any student activities at night a bunch of us would go to Jahn’s Ice Cream Parlor. We would go to one on Queens Blvd. or on Main Street, Flushing. They were always packed with high school students. Great times and memories.
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