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Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour

by Suzanne
Tuesday, December 18, 2007

I used to love going to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour as a kid growing up in Huntington Beach. It was all red and white in the Victorian style of Mary Poppins. I believe it was a chain in Orange County.

You could order "The Zoo" which was a big trough of every ice cream and topping they had, accented with sparklers. When you ordered it, all the wait staff would run out with it held high in the air, whistles and horns announcing your intent to eat the whole thing.

If and when you did eat it all, another big production followed and a ribbon that said, "I made a pig of myself at Farrell's." Oh, how I wanted one of those ribbons.

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17 Comments:

  • I think the ribbon was associated with "The Trough", not the zoo. I recall my brother ordering a trough so he could get the ribbon.

    My favorite part of Farrell's was the store. The giant jaw breakers were especially enticing, though I also remember wanting a Styrofoam straw hat. I eventually talked my parents into buying one for me. It lasted about 2 days.

    By Anonymous Barkalounger, at December 19, 2007 10:58 AM  

  • There were Farrell's locations in San Diego County too. I remember going there for birthday parties, and those guys would come out with a birthday cake or ice cream on a stretcher, run around all over the parlour, and make all the siren sounds. Lot's fun for kids.

    By Blogger Steve, at December 19, 2007 11:31 AM  

  • OOOOH! And you got to 'sign' the trough! I REALLY wanted to have the opportunity to put my little grafitti name on that!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at December 19, 2007 7:30 PM  

  • You know, now that you say that, it makes more sence it was called "The Trough"---you know seeing as you made a "Pig" of yourself when you ate it.
    I do remember you got to sign it! I remember those jawbreakers too.

    By Blogger Suzanne Broughton, at December 19, 2007 9:21 PM  

  • Recently drove out to the last remaining Farrel's on the U.S. mainland.......in Santa Clarita.....it was nothing like I remember when I was a kid.....this location had almost no businees the day we were there....sad!

    There is another location in Hawaii...and they did have plans to bring one to the Block in Orange but, those plans are hung up in court over licensing rights.....

    By Anonymous Skuterdude, at December 20, 2007 1:48 AM  

  • i REMEMBER fARRELLS! iT WAS OUR FAVORITE PLACE TO GO AS KIDS! bIRTHDAYS, SPECIAL DAYS ANYTIME WAS GREAT FOR FARRELLS! WE USED TO LOVE BUYING SOMETHING FROM THE MINI-CANDY STORE ON THE WAY OUT. WE WENT TO THE ONE ON TUSTIN IN ORANGE AND THAT IS ONE PLACE THAT HOLDS SO MANY GREAT MEMORIES!

    By Anonymous ocgirl, at December 26, 2007 6:14 AM  

  • Wow, I remember Ferrells too. Only I used to go to the one in Montclair. The cool kids always had their birthday parties there. I remember how neat it was that lunch was ICE CREAM!

    By Anonymous Hally, at December 28, 2007 2:46 PM  

  • Farrels was famous for its "Pig Trough"- about a gallon of ice cream, various toppings and such, served to one person. It was brought out by a couple of servers, who mimed stumbling and groaning beneath the weight of so much ice cream. Then, if that person actually managed to eat it all by themselves, the staff would sound an old crank air raid siren, come flying out from the kitchen, and sing and do some sort of routine about what a pig you were, and awarded a big rosette ribbon with 'I Made A Pig of Myself At Farrells" printed on it.

    The siren was also used to call attention to those having a birthday there...as I all too well know! I liked one of their flavours of ice cream in particular, and had asked my folks if we could go there on my birthday, after dinner....big mistake. Dad must have had a quiet word with one of the staff, because they sounded the siren, came running to the table, and sang 'happy birthday' through a bullhorn, while I literally slid under the table in utter humiliation and embarrassment. Nothing could coax me out of there, till they were gone!

    In hindsight, I don't know who was more embarrassed, me, for all the fuss and noise made about me in public, or my mom, for having her 17 year old daughter hiding under a table!

    By Blogger LadyDeerskin And Her Service Dog, at January 23, 2008 2:19 PM  

  • I think the trough was the one that a single person MIGHT eat, but the zoo was like 30 or so scoops of ice cream

    I remember the one in HB after high school football in the 70s and also going to the one in Mission Valley, San Diego back in the 60s and 70s

    By Blogger hungry_i, at January 27, 2008 10:32 AM  

  • I remenber Ferrels We were celebrating a bitrhday party and a naked ( I believe they called them streakers back then ) man ran through the parlor.What s shock for little kids.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at January 27, 2008 3:41 PM  

  • Dear Lord... I didn't know so many people still remembered the place. I though all the Farrell's closed until friends and I stumbled into one in a San Diego mall! Boy, was I chuffed. I also remember watching Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and saw Napoleon pig out at an ice cream parlour -- an nudging my brother, 'hey, that's Farrell's!"

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at February 13, 2008 9:12 PM  

  • I miss Farrells too though I was rather young when they closed up and we usually went to the one located at the Stonewood mall in Downey.

    I've been thinking of making the pilgrimage to the one in santa Clarita and IIRC one closed in like Rosemead in the last few years, when exactly did the OC locations shut down?

    By Blogger Bucky, at February 25, 2008 2:05 AM  

  • I loved Farrell's growing up. That was a great place for us teens to go to with friends from church. I saw a sign at The Block awhile ago and was telling my kids about it. I was sorry to hear that there is trouble getting it in there.

    By Blogger DD Swenson, at March 10, 2008 6:21 PM  

  • Farrell's was a chain out of Sacramento. Prior to that there was Waldo's across from Cal State College at Fullerton (beeore it was the University).

    By Blogger BakoCouple, at March 17, 2008 1:56 PM  

  • Oh, yes I remember Farrell's and my 17th birthday...my father got angry at me and told me to go get into my pajama's and I did, then he called me out to the front room because he wanted to talk to me and while I was standing their talking to him my friends from high school came up from behind me and put a blindfold on me and tyed my hands behind my back. They took me to Farrell's in my pajamas and bathrobe. While we were driving there, I had asked if we could drive by this guys house that I really liked alot and I didn't know that the guy that I was seeing at the time was in the car with us. Boy was I shocked and embarrassed when they took off the blindfold and I saw him standing they’re telling me that he had heard every word that I had said. That was 32 years ago and still have not forgotten it!

    By Blogger Lisa, at April 17, 2008 12:42 PM  

  • I'm from the Detroit area and I remember that if you ate the entire "Trough" they gave you a button that said "I made a pig of myself at Farrell's".

    The ice cream there was delicious!!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at May 30, 2008 6:37 PM  

  • Minnesota - our Farrell's had "The Zoo" with all the bells and whistles back in the 70's. I think they moved to the "Trough" later on. It was a GREAT place to have a birthday!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at July 16, 2008 3:03 PM  

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