FROZEN IN TIME
Page Dairy Mart celebrates 70 years
“A lot of businesses might get sleepy after 70 years. I pride myself on having great products, and I love drawing together all the local businesses.”
Despite two full weeks of winter remaining and the temperature a breezy 30 degrees on Friday, a spring harbinger nonpareil would not be stopped: opening day at Page Dairy Mart, an ice cream icon on the farthest edge of the South Side that is celebrating its 70th season at the intersection of East Carson Street and Becks Run Road.
Brilliant sunshine belied the blustery early March climes, which did not deter lines from queuing at this temple of soft serve, sundaes and shakes before the 11 a.m. opening.
“It’s never too cold for ice cream,” said Trudy Baumgarten of Scott, despite donning a parka and while clutching a chocolate covered pretzel Arctic Swirl treat. She came with her coworkers Kristen Jeke and Vicki
— Chuck Page, owner of Page Dairy Mart
Holbrook from a nearby office building and were first in line for the 2021 season.
By noon, three dozen people snaked around the building, and another handful waited in their cars. Clearly, they all scream for ice cream — even if it’s through an N95 mask and their eyes are tearing up from the cold.
But it’s not nearly the coldest opening day Chuck Page remembers.
“A few years ago, this woman comes down, she’s got a parka on with fur around it and it’s freezing and snowing but she’s smiling and I thought, I’ve achieved something here, but I’m not sure what it is, to have someone smiling in those conditions,” he said with a laugh.
The property has been in Mr. Page’s family for exactly 104½ years today; his ancestors bought it from the descendants of the Hays family, who were early pioneers in the region and helped develop the local coal industry.
A general store and service station predated the ice cream shop. They’ve endured flooding, a gas line explosion that leveled the place, and the disappearance of Pittsburgh’s industrial base —
their customers.
“When you came down Becks Run Road, there was the eternal flame of the J&L mill across the river,” he said. “There was always a breeze so we didn’t get the smell.
“But the steel mill was there. The water pumping station [across the street] had 30 workers. The railroad signal tower had 15. The railroad gangs before it was automated, there were 40 guys fixing the tracks. Every morning there would be black or yellow dust from the mill. But this whole valley had life — the sky lit up at night.”
“They said some people were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. I say I was born with a plastic spoon,” the 67-year-old Mr. Page jokes.
He likened the tight space filled with freezers and machines to working in a submarine. He started helping out there when he was 10 years old but initially he wasn’t terribly interested in being the scion of scoops.
“Out of high school, I didn’t really want to do this because I didn’t like the lifestyle because you’re married to it.” His first job was for zombie luminary George Romero’s production company, but he eventually came back to the family business in 1981 and took it over completely in 1986. Those were lean years in Pittsburgh, but the dairy mart has managed to survive and thrive.
Mr. Page credits that to the willingness to continue to add menu items and partner with other local businesses like Nancy B’s Bakery in Homestead, Turner Dairy of Penn Hills, Big Dog Coffee on the South Side and Titusville Dairy in Crawford County, which makes his ice cream.
“A lot of businesses might get sleepy after 70 years,” he said. “I pride myself on having great products, and I love drawing together all the local businesses. We have some great food in this city and I think we do it right — we complement the products we use.”
He also credits his 29year old daughter, Margie Page Prusia. She likewise helped out at the shop as a kid but left a career in nursing to take over the family business last year — a trying one to say the least.
They were only open a short while before the pandemic hit.
“Itwas a rough start. We gota couple weeks in before everything hit the fan,” Mr. Page said. But ultimately, beinga takeaway, outdoor business, “we had a great year lastyear because people needed escape. They needed toget out. We had the perfect mix because we weren’t limited with numbers.”
Ms. Prusia said that opening for a 70th year is “a major milestone for sure. To open up and have the support we do is pretty awesome. Last year was definitely draining at some points. The news coming out every day could change your whole situation at any second.”
She has ambitious plans to grow the business in future years, but they know the nostalgia is as much a part of it as the food.
Customers’ memories are his favorite part of this experience, Mr. Page said.
“Maybe their grandfather brought them; now they’re bringing their grandchildren. Or a couple went on dates here and now they bring their kids. It’s just a very satisfying thing to bring pleasure to people and it’s a good feeling and it’s like they are a part of you,” he said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.