Fendall's Quality Ice Cream is a survivor. Celebrating 100 years in business, the company is a throwback to Utah's glory days of local ice cream parlors.
Sure, the company has downsized. The parlor at 470 S. 700 East closed in 1997, so customers must go around to the back of the building to buy a carton of old-time favorites, such as black licorice, green pineapple or burnt almond fudge.
But far from being licked by the giant ice-cream corporations, Fendall's has scooped out a niche for itself with its old-fashioned flavors and custom-made ice creams for local restaurants.
It has also branched out into some of the trendy treats, such as gelato and sorbet.
"I think we're probably the oldest ice cream manufacturer in Utah," said Gunter Radinger.
His wife, Carol, is the granddaughter of Joseph Rimensberger, who became a partner in Edmund Fendall's ice cream company soon after it was established in 1910.
For historical perspective, this was just six years after the ice-cream cone was launched at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. It wasn't until 1926 that the continuous ice cream freezer was perfected, making large-scale ice cream manufacturing possible.
Fendall's was churning ice cream awhile before some of Utah's other well-known brands. Casper's Ice Cream Co. in Richmond was founded by Casper Merrill in 1925 and is still in business with its Casco nut sundaes and FatBoy ice cream sandwiches.
Snelgrove's and Farr's both were both launched in 1929, and Russell's Ice Cream was founded in 1946. (Snelgrove's was bought by Dreyer's in 1989, and Farr's and Russell's have since merged into the Farr Russell Group.)
Rimensberger was a Swiss master pastry chef working at the famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. A job offer to work his pastry magic at the Hotel Utah (which opened in 1911) brought him to Salt Lake City.
While working at the Hotel Utah, Rimensberger met Fendall, who supplied ice cream to the hotel. The two became official business partners in 1916, said Gunter Radinger.
But tragedy struck soon after. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson came to Utah and spoke at the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Edmund Fendall was in the crowd at Temple Square trying to see the president.
"It was a hot September afternoon, and there was a big stampede of people, and he got caught in it," said Radinger. "He ended up having a heart attack and died."
Upon the death of his partner, Rimensberger decided to continue the business. He kept the Fendall's name, thinking that it looked better on the marquee than "Rimensberger," said Gunter.
Back then, the company was located at 533 E. 200 South.
Eventually, Joseph's oldest son, Carl, took over Fendall's and expanded it. In 1957, the company moved to its present location.
Many remember the ice cream parlor at the front of the building, which is now a Big Daddy's Pizza.
"We closed it in 1997, because it wasn't producing," said Radinger. "Now people say they want the parlor back. But with the economy the way it is, I don't know if we want to take it on again."
Today, Carol, Gunter, and their son, Carl, run the business along with three other employees. Carol recently took some time off due to health issues.
"We're usually here together all the time," said Gunter. "We have been married 39 years and haven't been apart more than three days the whole time."
Over the years, Fendall's has scooped out several niches.
"We're known for the old-fashioned flavors like black licorice, green pineapple, black walnut, lemon custard and burnt almond fudge," said Carl Radinger.
To that end, the company recently started a Flavor of the Month Club. For a $100 fee, you will get a half-gallon of the designated flavor delivered to your home, every month for a year.
"One lady has a 90-year-old grandfather, and she gave him a membership as a Christmas present," said Carl.
Another specialty is custom-made ice cream.
"We can make ice cream out of practically anything," said Gunter. That includes garlic, ketchup ripple, split pea, lemon mustard and cucumber-onion sorbet.
Many custom-made ice creams are ordered by restaurants.
"We deal with most of the Asian restaurants in town, because we do flavors like ginger, red bean, green tea mango and plum," said Gunter.
They also supply the spumoni and kahlua ice cream for Cinegrill. "They described it to us, and we spent three months making samples for them until we got the taste right, and they've been selling it ever since," said Gunter.
"Because we're a small company, we can do small special orders, even a half-gallon for 10 people. The larger the company, the larger the minimums."
Bernhard Gotz of Little America often calls on Fendall's for special dinners and parties.
"Gunter is very flexible, he's done my Pear William sorbet, and white chocolate ice cream, and prickly pear and tequila sorbet," Gotz said. "They are small enough that they can really do a great job of these specialty things and take care of the customer."
The store still gets walk-in traffic, such as the woman who stopped in to buy ginger ice cream on a February afternoon.
"We couldn't celebrate Chinese New Year without ginger ice cream from Fendall's," she said as she walked out the door, carton in hand.
A half-gallon of any flavor ice cream sells for $7.09. The store is open from 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, and from 9 a.m.-noon on Saturday.
Several years ago, Fendall's began making gelato, or Italian-style ice cream. It's now sold in local grocery stores such as Smith's, Harmon's, Reams, Macy's and Winegar's.
Ice cream has "overrun," or the amount of air that's incorporated while the ice cream is churning. But gelato doesn't contain as much air, and it also contains less butter fat.
"Sugar adds smoothness, so you get a very smooth texture," said Gunter. "Because gelato is so rich, it lends itself to fruit flavors and nuts."
In fact, pistachio and hazelnut are some of Fendall's most popular gelatos.
The office walls are lined with awards and photos from the company's history. There are also autographed photos of actor Dick Wilson from the "Please don't squeeze the Charmin" bathroom tissue commercials; and Al Lewis of "The Munsters" TV show.
Gunter said these two actors became regulars at Fendall's while performing at Tiffany's Attic, a downtown dinner theater in the 1970s.
Another curious item in the office is the baby crib. That's for Carl's baby daughter when she comes in. So, it appears that another generation is already growing up in the ice cream business.
On the Web: www.fendalls.com or 801-355-3583.
e-mail: vphillips@desnews.com