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In 1982, John Gannon was a student at Onondaga Community College with no idea what career he wanted to pursue. Growing up, he worked at his father’s full-service grocery store, Gannon’s Silver Star, but he felt a sense of inertia about his future. It wasn’t a matter of laziness, but of aimlessness.

“I had no idea what I wanted to do,” John said. “I think it was driving my parents crazy.”

So John’s father convinced him and his sister, Eileen, to start Gannon’s Ice Cream shop at the small ice cream stand on the lot of Gannon’s Silver Star. The stand went through several managers, and it wasn’t until John was stuck and the grocery store had gone out of business that the now 42-year-old ice cream store served up its first scoop.

At the time, Eileen had just graduated college and was considering attending graduate school. Neither John nor Eileen were experienced in business management, let alone ice cream making. Though it’s hard to start a small business, John and Eileen had help from people in the industry.

“We were here every day open to close, and didn’t hire a lot of people because we couldn’t afford to pay them, so we just worked,” John said. “We had a good time.”

Gannon’s is a family business, with many members pitching in. Hard work and diligence, along with the family’s continued support, helped Gannon’s success, John said.

Solange Jain | Asst. Photo Editor

On the outside of Gannon’s Ice Cream, patrons place orders and wait for their treats from a drive-thru-style window.

The stand is located a straight shot from Colvin Avenue east toward the Seneca Turnpike. It sits on a busy intersection four miles away from Syracuse University. The busy location means it draws business from Syracuse’s universities, hospitals and local residents alike.

Gannon’s is a self-sufficient operation that gets flavorings and milk from wholesalers like Hood. In the back it has a mixing room and a walk-in freezer to store extra ingredients. Originally, Gannon’s didn’t make its own ice cream, but in its second year of being open, the staff developed its own process.

Now, Gannon’s offers 30 flavors daily, which rotate between its always, frequently, occasionally, rarely, and seasonally offered flavors, plus specialty cakes, banana splits and milkshakes.

The flavors are a rogue’s gallery of recurring flavors. Standard flavors, like vanilla, cookie dough, and chocolate are always on the menu, but others are repeating rarities, like Irish cream, bourbon almond and cranberry habanero.

Part of its unmistakable charm are the red tables and chairs that catch customers’ eyes from the road. There are also murals outside and inside the building by local artist JP Crangle, depicting pastel shades and cartoonish shapes.

The shop opens for the season in mid-March and closes around Thanksgiving. Naturally, the summer season is the busiest, making up for the store’s winter closure. In the winter, the staff cleans up, makes repairs and prepares for the next spring.

For many customers, Gannon’s is the go-to ice cream spot they’ve gone to for years. John has watched many patrons grow up from the shop’s window. He’s seen kids eventually get jobs at Gannon’s, get married and take their kids to the shop.

Solange Jain | Asst. Photo Editor

A Gannon’s worker decorates a waffle cone. Gannon’s has been family-owned-and-operated for nearly 40 years.

Like much of the family, Charlie Gannon, John’s son, is committed to the ice cream shop. He works the register five times a week in the summer, collecting orders and serving customers their desired scoops.

As an avid sports fan, Charlie usually plays a sports match on the TV behind the counter. He sported a Yankees cap to work, but he ignores the tennis US Open on the screen to serve customers, a level of dedication that’s a mark of the family.

“We don’t have a ton of time to sit around and watch, but looking up’s fun, every once in a while,” Charlie said.

Charlie finishes off his shift with a milkshake, sipping while he walks alongside his mom, who drops off his younger brother for his shift. Even though it can get busy, the workplace culture is fun and makes a summer job all the more enjoyable.

“I love it here. I try and work as much as possible. Pick up hours when they’re needed,” Charlie said. “If I didn’t, he’d (John) probably make me come down anyways, but he doesn’t have to worry about it.”

Charlie’s a sophomore in high school now and he’s been working at Gannon’s for the past two summers. He will likely work there through college when he’s home from school.

There’s a tip jar marked “College Fund” sitting at the counter, listing the alma maters of the staff. It’s a varied bunch of colleges, and reflects the youth of the staff and the strong community ties at Gannon’s. Staff members split the tips evenly among themselves.

Like many customers, for 8-year-old Liam Aiello and his family, ice cream is a tradition even in the cooler September weather.

“We actually do this as our ‘last day of summer before school starts’ tradition,” his mother, Kelly Aiello, said.

The family lives twenty minutes away from Gannon’s, so it’s always been their summer spot. They also buy birthday cakes from Gannon’s. For Liam, it’s all about flavor. Normally, he gets a chocolate milkshake, but, on Labor Day, he got a scoop of Milky Way on a whim.

While tradition brings some to Gannon’s, for others, it’s a new experience. SU juniors Marina Milelli, Kendall Palazzi and Jane Desmond admired the exterior seating and the variety of flavors and toppings.

Gannon’s offers various gluten-free options, including cones, which was a major selling point for Desmond. Desmond’s mother discovered the spot after dropping her off freshman year as she looked for a sweet treat after the emotionally draining move-in process.

“Whenever my mom leaves a place she’s sad to leave, she gets herself a milkshake,” Desmond said.

John and Charlie aren’t complex when it comes to their own ice cream choices. Both of them chose Chocolate Chip for their personal favorites, out of an appreciation of simplicity, and prefer the classic cone.

Gannon’s is a job of passion to them, and the staff, even if they’re not all related by blood, is a tightly-knit unit. It doesn’t even feel like draining work to Charlie.

“Everybody who works here is great,” he said. “It’s just a fun thing to do.”

Published on September 5, 2024 at 1:08 am