Here’s the inside scoop on shop’s Big Chip
Statue draws attention to ice cream parlor on Rt. 309 in Coopersburg.
DETAILS
He’s kind of a big deal.
While he may be new on the scene, his chiseled good looks are attracting a lot of attention from drivers cruising along Route 309 through Coopersburg.
His name is Giant Chip, a 20-foot-tall statue installed last week outside the Inside Scoop, a popular ice cream and coffee shop. He’s made of fiberglass, holding an ice cream (chocolate in a wafer cone) in one hand and a scooper in the other.
“People are stopping by to take his photo before we’re even open,” said Penny Caciolo, who owns Inside Scoop with her husband, Tony Caciolo.
Giant Chip’s job, of course, is to attract attention. He was made in Virginia using a mold of what was left of an original “muffler man,” which were statues that once stood by the thousands along American roadsides, particularly in the ’60s, as a way to attract customers to businesses. Many of them had a similar look, with a face featuring a square jaw and an intense expression, and a body with strong shoulders holding some items that promote the business.
The statues were different characters such as lumberjacks and cowboys, but many of the first statues held big car mufflers, thus the name “muffler man.”
The first muffler man dates to 1962 and was of Paul Bunyan holding a giant ax outside a cafe on Route 66 in Arizona. Pennsylvania is home to less than a half-dozen muffler man statues, according to RoadsideAmerica.com. (Check the list: www.roadsideamerica.com/ muffler/trackpw.html)
Tony Caciolo had been looking for a muffler man since the couple opened the ice cream shop about 10 years ago. Retro decor, particularly the ’60s look, is part of the vibe at Inside Scoop, which has diner-style booths and era-appropriate music such as “Jingle Bell Rock.” So having a muffler man out front to greet customers seems fitting.
Through online searches, Tony Caciolo had come in contact with a fiberglass expert in Virginia. The expert contacted him after finding what was left of an original muffler man in a junkyard in Canada. From the muffler man’s remains, the expert was able to cast a mold and create Giant Chip.
Giant Chip arrived Dec. 11 — and it was a [pleasant] surprise for Penny Caciolo.
“I drove up and I saw a large crane in the parking lot,” Penny Caciolo said. “I was overwhelmed.”
Penny Caciolo is hoping Giant Chip becomes a landmark. He’s been popular with their customers, who snap photos and post to social media. Attracting attention was always part of the charm of these statues.
“The trend these days is actually to create larger and larger roadside art objects,” said Mark C. Sedenquist, managing editor of Flattop Productions Inc. and www.RoadTripAmerica.com. “There are new promotional ‘art’ installations in every state, every year. In these days of social media, in general, and sites like Instagram in particular, there is an increasing amount of interest in getting off the interstate highways and traveling to the smaller towns who boast such road trip attractions.”
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