Icecream Journal

The following was posted on the Ice Cream Journal as a two-part entry in 2007 about an unusual ice cream law in Newark, NJ. By the way, here in Lancaster County, you’re allowed to buy, sell and eat ice cream whenever you want!

PART ONE

According to DumbLaws.com (and several other websites), in Newark, New Jersey it is illegal to sell ice cream after 6pm unless the customer has a note from his or her doctor.

We can’t imagine a medical condition for which the prescription is a double scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough, but whatever it is, it doesn’t sound too bad. Do you think Newark has ice cream addicts who forge prescriptions in order to satisfy their Sunday evening ice cream habit? We really hope it doesn’t come to that.

And what happens if a police officer catches a shop owner breaking the ice cream law? Do they take away your scoop? It’s funny to imagine the Newark Police Department setting up sting operations outside of suspected illegal ice cream vendors and barging in with badges and guns drawn, ordering everyone to “put your spoons on the floor and step away from the ice cream cone!”

PART TWO

In our last post we talked about the old Newark, New Jersey law that states that it is illegal to sell ice cream in Newark after 6 pm on Sundays unless the customer has permission from his or her doctor. It sounds pretty strange, so we did some poking around to find out if this outdated rule is still enforced.

None of the restuarants we talked to had even heard of the law. A few of them ended our conversation as soon as we mentioned the law and asked if they sold ice cream on Sunday evenings. Perhaps they were afraid we were a police informant of some sort. The New Jersey Restaurant Association was also unaware of the 19th century rule.

Before we ended our brief investigation, we went right to the source of the law’s enforcement: The Newark Police Department. There, we spoke with a clerk from the Laws Department who was unable to find any immediate record of the law, but agreed to fax us a form to initiate a more in-depth search.

So there you have it. The Newark ice cream law is probably on the books somewhere, but known by very few (and enforced by no one). We know that ignorance of the law is no defense, but in this case, we’re guessing what you don’t know, won’t hurt you.

The subject line pretty much says it all. If you’re thinking about surprising a friend or family member who lives outside the Turkey Hill area of distribution with a shipment of ice cream or iced tea, tomorrow (Thursday, November 20) is the last day to order your products so that they’re delivered by Thanksgiving. To place an order — packed in dry ice and everything! — check out the Turkey Hill website here.

Julie P. from Ambridge, PA asks: I was looking to invest for the first time in the stock market and was wondering if Turkey Hill has a stock symbol. I am asking because I only eat Turkey Hill these days.

Thanks for your question, Julie. Turkey Hill itself isn’t a publicly owned and traded company and therefore has no stock for sale, but our parent company, Kroger, is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KR if you’d like to invest a bit in that. 

I guess you could consider our ice cream and iced tea like stock. Every time you buy those products, you’re making an investment in Turkey Hill Dairy. And unlike the stock market, where you might lose money or wait a long time to see a profit, with our ice cream and iced tea you’re rewarded immediately!

On that note, I’m headed to the grocery store after work to make several investments of my own!

Best,
Ernie

November already? Wow. And what an historic one it’s shaping up to be. Regardless of you voted in the big election, at least we can all agree on one thing: ice cream. And nothing’s better for bringing people together than an ice cream party. That’s why we’ve chosen the Lazy Susan Ice Cream Server as the this month’s prize. One commenter at random from all the comments from November will be chosen to receive this party starter.