"Closed? Aww, come on, Max," a mother sighed as she and her toddler son walked away from Lazy Sundae’s former location on Wilson Boulevard. To the dismay of countless Arlington residents, the family-friendly ice cream hangout Lazy Sundae closed its doors July 20th in preparation for its move to Falls Church. Instead of the tubs of a variety of ice cream flavors behind the counter, Lazy Sundae’s familiar home was beginning to collect dust on Friday, in the midst of being dismantled.
ACCORDING TO co-owner Rebecca Tax, the landlord refused to renew Lazy Sundae’s lease.
"We contacted him to renegotiate … he wasn’t interested in renewing the lease," said Tax.
Ten years ago Lazy Sundae made its entrance in Arlington, providing people with a fresh high-quality alternative to chain ice cream shops. "There was no ice cream store in North Arlington," said Tax. "There was only a Baskin-Robbins … no super, premium, homemade ice cream."
Lazy Sundae certainly delivered — Arlington residents quickly became hooked on the "premium homemade ice cream" and the funky, casual atmosphere the parlor offered. Over the past decade, Lazy Sundae had introduced 200 different flavors, from the classic caramel swirl to the more daring "honey" flavored ice cream, with about 20 flavors in rotation at any given moment.
Long-time customers were still visiting Lazy Sundae this past Friday, believing they had time for one last scoop before it moved.
Ten-year old Maddie Krause, whose favorite flavor was black raspberry, had been going to Lazy Sundae for half her life, making a trip with her grandparents whenever she came to visit them from Fairfax. "It was always full of people … having fun," her grandfather Alan said. "It was also very convenient, we live right around the corner. It gave our granddaughter a reason to visit us — now it’s gone, we won’t see her anymore," he said jokingly.
"It really is terrible," said Nancy Gito. Gito and her friend Amy Glassman stopped by the ice cream parlor on Friday to satisfy their sweet tooth. "It was one of the wonderful first local businesses in Arlington … a place to send your kids … a family place," Gito said.
"It will be a loss," said Glassman.