‘Goldie’s would not be here without Golda’

From international visitors to gourmands around the Hawkeye State, whoever stops by Goldie’s Ice Cream Shoppe in Prairie City is ensured to be treated to three things — a giant tenderloin sandwich, a sweet frozen concoction and a nice conversation with Goldie herself.

One of those three charms will be missing soon, as Golda Ingram, a longtime employee, previous owner and the namesake of the Prairie City staple, will take a step back from the restaurant and retire from the business she loves after 22 years.

“I watched all these kids grow. I watched them being born and watched them grow. It was wonderful to see that. If I didn’t work in a place like (Goldie’s), I would have not been able to see that,” Golda said. “I cannot stand on my feet that long anymore. If not, I would not quit.”

According to the Ingram family, a restaurant has always stood tall on the corner of West and Second streets in Prairie City since 1959. When the building was put up for sale, Melvin wanted to open a car lot at that location. But after the Iowa Department of Transportation did not approve the area to be turned to a car dealership, the Prairie City native decided to still purchase the building, and use it to bring in a service that Prairie City needed.

Little did the couple know, this small business venture would transform into something that will be a part of them for their rest of their lives.

“When the (previous owner) left the building, he just left everything in it. Grease was still in the deep fat fryer. I hired two lades to clean it up,” Melvin said. “I came home at 10 p.m. and I was like ‘You can’t even buy an ice cream cone in Prairie City. I am going to open an ice cream store.’”

The couple opened the business in August 1995, on a three-month trial period. They worked out the logistics, figured out how things operated and in April 1996, Goldie’s Ice Cream Shoppe was ready to serve Prairie City one cone at a time.

“That was the main reason (why we opened), to keep Melvin supplied in ice cream … he is an ice cream fanatic,” Golda said. “Neither one of us knew about running a business. We had lots of help from other towns that had ice cream stores. We contacted a supplier and in 1996, we opened the doors.”

The couple said Golda initially spoke against opening the ice cream shop. But soon after hiring some teenagers to help part-time, Golda found her groove and began enjoying working with ice cream. She realized her favorite part of the job was not necessarily enjoying sweet treats herself, but getting to know her staff and customers she met with each cone.

“I had a group of four teenage boys that did not have a license. They used to come in at nights just to hang out … when we weren’t busy, you could always see them at the table playing a card game,” Golda said. “I loved every one of those teenagers. Some of them worked for me for five summers.”

Golda said the business began to grow and the city with it. The couple began to see that Prairie City was in need of another restaurant. She said they were not capable of running an eatery. Luckily, a persistent teenager told her he would one day own the shop.

Soon after, that became a reality.

“When Brad (Magg) was (in college), he would come in the shop with his mom to get ice cream. He told her, ‘One day, I am going to own this place,’” Melvin said. “She said, ‘Brad is really interested in buying it.’ I said, ‘At our age, we should be interested in selling it.’ So we got together with that.”

Magg purchased the business in October 2006. After much renovation, the new joint restaurant and ice cream shop opened in April 2007. In tribute to the couple’s hard work and to make the regular customers still feel comfortable with the new changes, Magg decided to keep the Prairie City staple as “Goldie’s Ice Cream Shoppe.”

“Golda built up this business from nothing,” Magg said. “She built a name. Goldie’s was not just a Prairie City thing. It was known throughout the county and even farther. She did a great job with it. That was part of the charm and the main reason why I wanted to keep it Goldie’s. I wanted to keep the memories.”

As part of the sale contract, Magg requested that Golda stay on for one year to help the new owner get used to the daily grind. Magg said he began to see Golda as one of his family, and Golda felt the same way.

Golda said one year turned to two. And two turned to five. Before she knew it, Golda worked for the restaurant under Magg for 10 years.

She said she enjoyed every second of it.

“She really became a part of the family. She is like a grandma to me,” Magg said. “She always was very supportive and watched over me. She was there for moral support when things weren’t always good. It really has been an amazing situation having her on board.”

Golda said when she told Magg she was going to retire from waiting and serving customers and simply leave the business as quietly as she could, he would not let that happen.

“We want to give people an excuse to say hi and see Golda … She deserves to slow down and not have to worry about the schedule,” Magg said. “Goldie’s would not be here without Golda. The time I have had it, I wouldn’t have been successful if it hadn’t been for Golda.”

Goldie’s hosted a retirement celebration for Golda on Friday.

“It just won’t be quite the same without Golda. She is just fun to be around. She’s got a great sense of humor and a great personality,” Magg said.

Golda said she plans to use her newly acquired free time to catch up with old friends from around the area, enjoying longer winters in Arizona, spending more time with her family and honing her skills in bridge.

She said there is no doubt that she will also make a stop at Goldie’s to help satisfy her husband’s ice cream fix.

“On our tombstones out here, we have the Goldie’s logo. That shows that it has always been a part of me,” Golda said. “I am definitely going to miss talking to our regulars … I am going to miss visiting with people.”

Goldie's is open from 11 a.m. till 8:30 p.m. seven days a week. For more information, visit goldiesicecreamshoppe.com, call 515-994-3190 or find Goldie's Ice Cream Shoppe on Facebook.

Contact Anthony Victor Reyes at areyes@myprairiecitynews.com