SUNDERLAND — A cold October breeze rustled the branches of a maple tree next to Sugarloaf Frostie, shaking loose a few fiery orange leaves down to the black pavement, and hailing the change of seasons.
The cool Columbus Day weather could not keep people away from the final taste of summer as Monday marked the last day of the 2016 season for the popular local ice cream stand and restaurant on Route 116, which will be open again next year on May 1, weather permitting.
The Frostie, which was converted from a vegetable stand to ice cream in 1968 by Alec and France Kulessa, is open seasonally from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Its offerings now include an American-style grill menu of burgers, hot dogs and grilled chicken sandwiches, among other things. Today, the stand is owned by Alec’s son, Peter Kulessa.
On Monday, the scent of food sizzling on the grill mingled with the brisk fall air, as customers waited for their food from beneath the restaurant’s awning, occasionally looking out at Sugarloaf Mountain just across the river.
Another chilly gust whipped through the tree and swept a few leaves down beneath the 10 or so picnic tables, sending them skittering into an adjacent parking lot and causing guests seated around the tables to hug their coats a little tighter.
“We had to come for their last day,” said Danielle Lutenegger of Greenfield, who was eating outside Monday afternoon. Lutenegger, a former employee of the roadside restaurant, said that for her, the combination of changing leaves, chilly temperatures and familiar local food epitomizes fall in Franklin County.
“It’s the best thing ever. You’ve gotta try the cabbage. The healthiest thing you can eat,” said 95-year-old Irene Strempek from Cape Cod, who was there visiting her daughter, Cindy. “If you eat sauerkraut like Peter (Kulessa) makes, you’ll never need a doctor.”
Despite the date, inside the family-owned restaurant Monday was business as usual – with a twist (not an ice cream twist, although those were prevalent, too). Reflecting the changing season, Frostie employees were dressed as vampires, witches and cats as they readied orders and worked the grill. Darlene Kulessa, wife of Peter Kulessa, said dressing “all Halloween-ish” is an annual last-day tradition for the restaurant.
“We always close on Columbus Day,” she said, pausing while an employee called out order number “29!” before adding, “It’s been a very good day today.”
For almost 50 years, working at the Frostie has been a family tradition, and not just for the owners’ family. Sarah Meunier, an employee who was dressed as a zombie, said both her aunt and mother worked at the Frostie when they were younger. Kara Felton said her older sister, 11 years her senior, also worked at the stand.
Others, while not current or former employees, are fiercely loyal customers. Kulessa said the restaurant “has customers who’ve been coming to the Frostie for years.” Already this week, Kulessa said she has fielded phone calls from customers across the state inquiring about when they will open again next year. Last week, she said a couple drove all the way from Worcester to eat at the Frostie one more time before it closed for the season.
For many — including John and Polly MacLean, who took their young granddaughter, Beatrix, for ice cream after hiking Mount Sugarloaf — eating at the Frostie Monday was a way to bid goodbye to warm weather.
“I love it, I grew up coming here,” said Amanda Calvo, who was eating at a table with her mother, Sharon Calvo, and dog, Mason. Calvo, who is now a junior at Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire, said she has worked at the Frostie for six years, starting when she was a freshman in high school. While home for the long Columbus Day weekend, Calvo made it a point to stop in.
“We had to come back for the last day, because we love the food,” Sharon Calvo said.