Ice cream has been popular in RI for a long time. Here’s a look through our archive.
Take a look at the summer treat, ice cream, from historic photos from The Providence Journal.
Journal Staff
As Rhode Island begins to heat up for another New England summer, you may be searching for the perfect place to cool off with some ice cream.
Luckily, the Ocean State is full of waterside stands and old-time shops perfect for a summer scoop. But which of the state’s ice cream stands is the oldest? Opened in 1923 in Tiverton, Gray’s Ice Cream stands as Rhode Island’s oldest ice cream shop at 102 years old.
Here’s the ice cream shop’s story, as well as how to get a sweet treat there this summer.
History of Gray’s Ice Cream
According to the Tiverton Historical Society, Gray’s Ice Cream was first opened in 1923 by Annie Gray, who started by selling ice cream from the back window of her house. Originally, Gray sold ice cream that had been made in Fall River from Tiverton milk, but she eventually began selling her own homemade ice cream, offering vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and flavors.
After Annie’s death in 1938, her daughter Florence “Flossie” Brow took over the ice cream stand, adding rum raisin and frozen pudding to the flavor list. Gray’s was later bought by Gil Pontes and David Sylvia, who ran the shop until 1980.
In 1957, a new building was constructed for the business, allowing employees to make ice cream daily in the back room. Since then, Gray’s Ice Cream has been passed through various owners, but the tradition of Rhode Island’s oldest ice cream shop still stands in the 1957 building at Tiverton’s Four Corners.
Oldest ice cream truck business: Palagis Ice Cream
While Gray’s Ice Cream is the oldest ice cream stand, there is a Rhode Island ice cream business that is even older.
Palagis Ice Cream, originally called Peter Palagi Ice Cream, got its start in Pawtucket in 1896 as an ice cream truck company. The business originally started out selling fruits and vegetables from a horse and wagon before Italian immigrant Pietro Palagi made the switch to ice cream. They now claim the title of oldest ice cream truck business in the county.
Worth knowing, there’s also Palagi Bros Ice Cream and Frozen Lemonade, which was founded by Peter Palagi’s brother Tony Palagi, who immigrated to the United State a few years after Peter. It’s not quite as old as Palagis Ice Cream, but it is still owned by the Palagi family.
Palagis Ice Cream has a physical shack at 55 Bacon St. in Pawtucket.
How to get ice cream at Gray’s
Want to try a scoop from Rhode Island’s oldest ice cream shop? Head over to one of Gray’s two locations – the original shop at 16 East Road in Tiverton, and a second shop at 467 Hope St. in Bristol.
Tiverton’s hours are 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday or 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and Bristol’s hours are noon to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday or noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
