NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The future seemed grim five years ago for a Nashville soda shop that has been serving up ice cream since the Great Depression. Faced with a rent increase, the Elliston Place Soda Shop hung a sign on the door: It would be closing for good.
In a city with a poor track record of protecting landmarks, it seemed like another piece of Nashville history was about to disappear.
But within two days, the lunchtime line was out the door and down the block. Longtime waitress Linda Melton – Miss Linda to her many customers – said one alum from nearby Vanderbilt University flew in from New York, just to get one last shake.
The immediate public show of support led to a new lease, a new owner and new popularity for the old-fashioned shop, which still has its classic tiled walls and floors, neon “food” and “soda” signs, and red vinyl stools along a Formica-topped counter.
Thursday marks a high point in the landmark’s comeback. Elliston Place was chosen as the launch site for the United States Postal Service’s new “soda fountain favorites” stamps, in part because it still offers all five desserts they depict: double-scoop ice cream cone, egg cream, banana split, root beer float and hot fudge sundae.