ROSE RODRIGUEZ PHELAN Scooping on The Avenue
Gone are the days of mom-and-pop shops lining both sides of Greenwich Avenue where kids could make an honest dollar.
In retrospect, as a kid growing up during the 1970’s and 80s, Greenwich felt like the best place to grow up. There was relative safety in our neighborhoods.
After school kids could be found strolling Greenwich Avenue, grabbing a slice of pizza and a soda for under $3 at DaVinci’s. Summers consisted of trips to Tod’s Point or riding the ferry to Island Beach and cruising “The Avenue” and ending a hot summer day with an ice cream cone.
As a high school kid, getting a job was paramount to the teen experience and parents’ chiding. On a recommendation from a Greenwich High School friend, I landed my first job as an ice cream scooper for Baskin-Robbins at 89 Greenwich Ave. in 1985. The store was owned by Louie Adatto since 1967, then was managed by his son, Jerry Adatto, who later became the owner until 1994. The store was a true institution to locals, visitors, and the famous to boot.
When it came to awesome high school jobs to have, this was the bestkept secret in town. As a boss, Jerry had strict standards on ice cream serving and cake decorating. A junior scoop weighed 2.5 oz and we better be sure we held to it. He taught us the meaning of work in the real world, lessons in customer service, autonomy, and fair pay.
One funny memory included the“Oliver North” cake incident. Unbeknownst to Jerry or anyone else, the cake created a swirl of news and angry phone calls. No picture, but it was made using our GI Joe cake mold, after a few days in the cooler one of the guys added the finishing touch with shredded paper in hand with a word bubble “I don’t recall.” Who knew ice cream could get so political. What a way to end 1987.
We came from different backgrounds
and parts of town, and were musicians, thespians, artists, smart kids and average kids. The common theme among us was scooping ice cream after school and on weekends. “B&R” as we called it, was a hub of the town especially on weekends.
Intermixed between locals, were customers such as Arthur Ashe, Ron Howard, Gordie Howe, Frank Gifford, Tom Seaver (Jerry’s all-time favorite), Caitlyn (Bruce) Jenner, Dorothy Hamill, Pat Riley, Tom Bergeron, Alice Cooper, Glenn Close, Richard Gere, and many, many others. Jerry recognized them instantly and was always ready with a smile and story.
One of the many perks of working for Jerry, were the epic field trips. He was a single guy then who liked to have fun and would include us, “kids” often. For many of us, this was our introduction to theatre, stand-up comedy, concerts, and live sports games. We often traveled as a group. So many memories made.
Jerry’s kindness was evident when one of us was in need. Like the time my Volkswagen bus died in New York City, he drove out to meet me and helped me get it towed back to Greenwich. Honestly what boss does that? Thank you Jerry!
COVID summer (as I call it) brought us “kids” back together in a social distance and Zoom reunion. Spearheaded by Shanon Becker who resides in Old Greenwich with her husband and three children, 20 of us reconnected live with Jerry from all over the country.
We are grown up, have families, raise kids, and have successful careers. We work in health care, film, theater, law, medicine, restaurants, music, and more, but we share the bond of our B&R memories.
It’s hard to imagine that 35 years later, this part of my adolescence would still be so meaningful, bringing me back to the good old days of working at Baskin-Robbins with an eclectic band of kids. Romances came and went, shenanigans flourished, and bonds were built that have led to decades-long friendships and reminiscence of an era now long gone.
Baskin-Robbins is no more, as the fate of many small businesses on Greenwich Avenue today.
Jerry Adatto was a boss and a friend, the lessons he taught us carry on, and for that we thank him. We aren’t part of the greatest generation, but we were in the right place at the right time to grow up in the hamlet known as Greenwich.