On the hottest day of the year, when mercury boils like lava in thermometers and even ice cubes threaten to spontaneously combust, what sight could be so welcome as an igloo?
And there it is, right off U.S. Highway 17 in Winter Haven, as it has been in one form or another for 59 years: Andy's Igloo, part of Andy's Drive-In Restaurant.
Inside, when Popi Nouaros opens the freezers to show off the many varieties of ice cream - labels read chocolate, cherry, chocolate chip, coffee, caramel (and that's just the "c"s) - you expect one bin to be marked "Time."
Time seems frozen at Andy's. For three generations, it has been a cool spot in town for good, no-frills food at nostalgic prices, with a relaxed wood-panel decor that would be at home on "The Ozzie and Harriet Show." Even the sign out front is like a retro-rocket into the past, from an age when the cars in the parking lot had fins and the girls wore poodle skirts.
Popi, 51, bought Andy's in 1999 from Emmanuel Emmanuelitis, who had purchased it in 1990 from its original owners, Roger "Andy" Anderson and wife Marilyn. A native of Greece, Popi brings a vigorous, friendly personality to the place. And she is devoted to its ambience, where calendars seem not to function, where prices haven't changed for years, where computers have not yet encroached and where payment is cash or check only, no credit or debit cards.
"Andy's brings a lot of memories to people," she says. "It makes me happy when I hear someone say, 'I used to date my wife right here; we used to sit right over there.' People feel like they're at home here."
There's a story Popi likes to tell.
Years ago, a woman whose daughter wasn't feeling well approached Popi with a doctor's official prescription order.
"The prescription was for one Andy's ice cream shake!" Popi says with a smile.
That would have given the daughter plenty of choices. At Andy's, there are 12 basic flavors of shakes as well as exotic treats, such as the fruit salad shake, a combination of pineapple, cherry, banana and peach. The friendly staff will mix and match in any combination a customer wants, Popi says, adding that it's all made from Velda Farms Ice Cream, with fresh milk added.
There also are sundaes, in as many flavors, with extras that include whipped cream, nuts, hot fudge and other toppings.
For those with a taste of chilled fruit in mind, Andy's offers several types of sherbet. Any ice cream or sherbet can be whipped up as a freeze, float, soda or served simply in a cone or dish, Popi says.
Then there are the Royal Treats.
"A lot of people like the Spin the Wheel," says Dawn Brandt, who has been a server at Andy's for 10 years. "The ice cream is spun around the cup, and the topping goes in the hole in the center."
There's also a banana split, Banana Bonanza or a parfait, she says.
Brandt says she has seen people come from Lakeland, Plant City and as far away as Clearwater for a cold treat.
"They say they're the best shakes they've ever had," Brandt says. "We use fresh ice cream, real fruit, hot fudge, and we make each to preference. Some like it thick; some like it thin."
And some like it hot. Joann Smith, who has worked at Andy's for 28 years, says the restaurant's variety of hamburgers remains a big seller no matter what the temperature is outside.
"We sell a lot of half-pound burgers and steakettes (one-third-pound burgers)," she says.
The diverse menu includes barbecued beef or pork sandwiches, chicken, fish, hot dogs, soups, salads and sandwiches. Most items are available as baskets, which include french fries and cole slaw.
When Smith started, Anderson still owned the restaurant. Some of the people she served or cooked for back then still are regulars.
"They used to bring their kids in," Smith says. "Now they bring in their grandkids!"
Smith agrees that Popi has changed little about Andy's, preferring to stick with a winning formula and a piece of Winter Haven history.
"It's got a lot more food choices now," she says, "but basically it's burgers and shakes. It's a little faster pace now than it used to be. Now customers always seem to be in a hurry."
Popi, Smith says with a smile, "is a very 'Get it done' kind of person ... 'now!' "
Or as the young employee named Nico puts it, with a wink in his voice between hustling from kitchen to Igloo to dining room, "I'm the son. I'm the slave!"
Popi says her father was a head chef at Brown Derby restaurants in the state, introducing his daughter into the business early. Arriving daily at 11 a.m. and leaving daily at 11 p.m., she gets to know her customers, making frequent swings through the dining room, chatting warmly with faces old and new.
"People feel like Andy's will always be here," Popi says. "I think the people people of Winter Haven deserve this. Every customer, we treat like a guest in our home."
