ZAHARAKOS OLD-FASHIONED ICE CREAM PARLOR

Pronunciation guide : zuh-HAIR-uh-coz
329 Washington Street, Columbus
Open every day 11 am – 8 pm
812-378-1900
Visit website
See the blog posts about Zaharakos!
See how they go all out for Christmas

… “The Number One Thing Every Hoosier Must Do” by Indianapolis Monthly magazine. One writer said it is “…a confection of mirrors, marble, Tiffany glass, carved woodwork, and polished soda-fountain plumbing.” The one-of-a kind Victorian ice cream parlor and museum is a treat for kids of all ages, from the music coming from the 1908 Welte Orchestrion to the homemade sodas and ice cream. Try a local favorite, the Green River, made the old-fashioned way. The gift shop features handmade toys, trains, and ice cream items. Plus, the Commons playground and kidscommons are right next door! Ginger Crichton of Midwest Living wrote, “The whirl of activity was mesmerizing as we walked into Zaharakos. We heard the thunk-thunk-thunk of old metal ice cream cases opening and closing. Servers dashed by carrying trays loaded with ice cream in old-fashioned clear glasses. In the back room, an organ piped out tunes. Today at Zaharakos, the food is fine—we sampled a gooey-good grilled cheese sandwich, a bowl of chili and four (!) kinds of ice cream—but nostalgia is the star. We lingered long after our last taste of raspberry chocolate chip, plunking quarters in a 1914 Banjo-Orchestra Replica, peeking into ornate Victorian-Era rooms and marveling at elaborately decorated soda fountains.”

Indianapolis Monthly magazine put Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor at #1 on its list of “The Top 50 Things Every Hoosier Must Do”:
“At this 110-year-old marble palace, the sundaes are hand-dipped and cherry-topped. But what makes this Columbus institution really sweet is the counter-side charm of Wilma Hare and her fellow soda jerks, who will pull you an ice cream soda the way it was in 1900 and serve it with a side of sass”

Also, Thrillist.com named Zaharakos the best ice cream shop in Indiana in June of 2017, and said, “The homemade sodas and sundaes taste like a simpler time, though some of that could come from the fact that it feels like you’re eating in an ice cream museum, with much of the shop’s original fixtures in decor still intact.”

The Chicago Sun-Times visited Zaharako’s when it re-opened its doors, and spoke with Tony Moravec (Zaharakos’ owner and president of a Columbus pharmaceutical company), who told them: “There’s nothing like this in the country today Lots of places have gone back to the 50s but you’re not going to find anybody who’s gone back to the turn of the century to this extent.” He also explained, “Back in the ’40s, Zaharakos is where (J. Irwin) Miller used to talk about modern design with the likes of Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames over ice cream.” (Excerpts from “Hot Fudge and History,” Chicago Sun-Times)

From Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana news release:
“Tony Moravec won recognition for his restoration of a beloved Indiana treasure, Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor in downtown Columbus. Known far and wide for its authentic vintage interior, the institution closed in 2006 after 106 years in operation and the community mourned. Moravec stepped forward to redress the loss. He not only refurbished the interior’s walnut and oak woodwork and onyx soda fountain, he also recreated a nineteenth-century storefront to replace the 1950s façade that didn’t match the authentic interior. He even bought back the 1908 Welte organ that had been sold to a California collector.”

The experience was better than expected, too. Delicious ice cream sundae, reasonably priced. Must stop if nearby. – posted May 2019 on Tripadvisor

This place not only whisks you back to the turn of the 20th century with its ornate wood and marble, but it is chock full of period ice cream parlor antiques – all of them fully restored. One can easily spend an hour getting lost in an era of more genteel times when the horseless carriage was still something of an amusement, and people actually looked each other in the eyes when talking…

Denver, Colorado visitor / Tripadvisor review, posted Nov 2018

Over the top! Online photos don’t do this place justice. What a step back in time, and the museum of old soda fountain dispensers is amazing. Lakewood, OH visitor / Tripadvisor review, posted June 2018

Time Travel to the 1900s Americana – Although the name of this place is Greek (meaning little flower) in origin, this is an ice cream parlor with the 1900s feel with musical instruments and fountain soda as well an an entire room full of museum-like display pieces…Members of our party tried the banana split with a couple of flavors and some caramel sauce and stated that it was fantastic. Guests can put in some coins to play some music on the huge pipe organ – which can be really loud if you are sitting close to it.

London, England visitor / Tripadvisor review, posted July 2018

Just had a single scoop; I don’t think I have ever had a better scoop of butter pecan ice cream ever! – London, England visitor / Tripadvisor review, posted August 2018