Sweet chills: Weather-weary folks get relief on National Ice Cream Day

BOCA RATON — On this sweltering third Sunday of July, nothing quite said "chill out" like National Ice Cream Day.

For the annual sweet-treat commemoration, which dates to 1984, national ice cream merchants provided deals including discounts for scoops, 99-cent cones, and reduced delivery charges for the dessert-needy.

Over at Proper Ice Cream off Military Trail in Boca Raton, the day meant 50% off sundaes: Key lime, blondie, cookie, you name it.

The most popular among visitors this Sunday?

The brownie sundae, a warmed house-made cookie-brownie with any choice of ice cream scoop, topped with fresh whipped cream and fudge. Usually, sundaes are priced at $14.

Deal aside, customers were enjoying the ice cream shop’s other perks Sunday, too. One boy ran to and from the fridge showing his mom the array of pints they could choose from to take home. Another couple, from out of town, shared a cone between laughs.

Richard Laplant of Boca Raton stepped out the door a few bites into his butter pecan cup. His daughter Sheryl, right beside him, held a cup of vanilla ice cream almost too big for her hands. Her toppings made it worth it, though — M&Ms and sprinkles.

Brian Zimmerman of Cooper City had just spent the afternoon at Boca Raton’s Patch Reef Park with his wife and two daughters.

“It was so hot, we figured today’s the perfect ice cream day,” he said.

So, he got a chocolate cone, his wife tried the vegan cookie butter and his daughters went for the cookies and cream and "cookie butter marshmallow dream.’

Some of Proper’s other indulgent flavors include butterscotch brownie, salted caramel and guava cheesecake. On their “exotic list” is horchata, olive oil and rosemary, and chocolate-covered honeycomb. And on their newly added sugar-free list, there’s deep chocolate and vegan raspberry.

For store clerk Sarina Adoni, the best part about working at Proper is that there always are new flavors to try.

“We’re always making things in small batches,” she said. “And being able to promote the best of the best is super-awesome.”

Every available option on the shop’s menu is made in house at Proper Ice Cream’s second location on Congress Avenue in Delray Beach. Being able to tell customers that all ingredients are natural and locally sourced means a lot to Adoni, who sported lollipop earrings in honor of the day.

Store manager Julia Sonenson had just made her way to Boca Raton’s Proper Ice Cream from Delray’s Congress Avenue location shortly after lunch. There, people walked in as soon as doors opened at 12:30 p.m., she said.

They were all there for National Ice Cream Day, they’d told her. And by around 3 p.m., more than 50 customers had stopped by to celebrate.

“My favorite part about this is getting people happy,” Sonenson said. “Giving them the best ice cream in town, they all get excited. They get to try all our amazing flavors, no artificial colors, no artificial sugars, no fillers.”

National Ice Cream Day was declared by the Reagan Administration, which also designated July as National Ice Cream Month. Ice cream's popularity rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, with sales of $8 billion nationwide, up 17% from the year before, according to the Circana consumer consultancy.

Sales of ice cream have topped $8 billion over the past 52 weeks, according to a report in USA Today.

Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Local residents chill out on National Ice Cream Day