The sweet spell of nostalgia

It’s not just the umpteen number of sweet delights that ‘Richie Rich’ has that makes it a favourite.

The fact that this ice cream parlour, located at Shivananda Circle, has stood the test of time and been around for 28 years is what makes it a haven for  Bengalureans — old and young alike.

From sundaes, ice creams, softies and slushs to snacks — the place has something for everyone. Shirish Shah, co-owner, says that not much has changed since the parlour started. “We started in a room in 1988, but now we have expanded to 2 rooms and are hoping to expand further in a few months. Apart from this branch, we have one on St Mark’s Road, which has been around for 25 years now.” He says that their parlour was one of the first to bring in interesting softie flavours. “The weather is perfect to enjoy softies, and since we were always in the food business, it wasn’t that hard to establish our name.”

He adds that he and co-owner Paresh Haria have always wanted to keep the taste of the items on the menu intact and thus, have stuck to the authentic recipes.

“We started off with hard ice creams, softies, slushes and milkshakes but the items have increased now. Our flavours have increased in number, be it the 35 varied milkshakes or the 100 different flavours that we have in sundaes.”

He points out that the most popular items include ‘Elvis Presley’, ‘Richie Rich Special’, ‘Gudbud’, ‘Death by Chocolate’, ‘Hot Chocolate Fudge’ and seasonal fruits ice creams, apart from fresh fruit juices and fruit salads. “Back in the days, families used to crowd around. But we see more youngsters now as we are open till 1 am. This is also why we refurbished the menu and added snacks and other items like ‘pav bhaji’, grilled sandwiches and ‘pulav’. Earlier the menu only had pizzas and burgers.” says Shirish.

Since it also has a parking lot, it acts as a drive-in space and people can enjoy their delicious orders in the privacy of their vehicle.

“We also have a seating space for 40 people. The interiors were redone around 8 years back, but we have tried to retain the charm,” Shirish says. He adds that there have been customers who have been coming for generations  together.

“Sometimes some customers visit us and say that they have been coming since their school or college days. That is very endearing and we feel proud.They also thank us for retaining the taste.”

Customer’s feedback is important to them and Shirish says that it’s the customers’ love and support that keeps them going.  “My wife Jayshree is always there to monitor everything. We are always open to suggestions and are ready to customise orders according to availability,” he says.