T.J. Clemente's Hamptons Tradition #5 - Sip 'n Soda

When you enter Sip 'n Soda, located on 40 Hampton Road in Southampton Village, you go back in time.

There are two pay phones, one in an old pay phone booth. There is the same 1958 soda fountain counter the place opened with in 1958, and always a member of the Parash family is there supervising and greeting so many of the long-time clientele by name. But most important there is the best homemade ice cream in Southampton.

Open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., this luncheonette was opened by William and Nicoleta Parash in 1958. It was the very same William Parash who opened and operated the in Bridgehampton in 1925. He sold the Kandy Kitchen in 1945. Grandson Paul Parash smiled when he explained how his grandfather used to make the famous ice cream himself. Today they have 17 flavors. Over the years Jackie Kennedy could be seen buying a young John-John ice cream at the counter.

The feel of an old-time, slowed down pace of enjoying a small town lunch of a great hamburger, fries and milk shake are right out of the T.V. series "Happy Days." The malt shop of the '50s lives at Sip 'n Soda. A meal there is more than nostalgia it is delicious.

The Parash family is a proud Greek family with a tradition of taking care of its Southampton clientele all year round for 49 years. Some customers come in and say, "The usual,” and get their favorite lunch prepared their favorite way followed by a scoop of their favorite ice cream without looking at the menu or even ordering. However, there is a fine menu with breakfast and lunch items priced affordably.

The 1,500-square-foot luncheonette oozes Southampton history. High School dates, kids celebrating birthdays, or a quick stop on a hot summer day is something all locals have done at Sip 'n Soda. Celebrities, socialites and regulars alike stop in to the small town soda shop to get a fix of small town life that so many fear is disappearing in the Hamptons. Sip 'n Soda is a charm the Hamptons still has. Sip 'n Soda is a tradition that is in strong hands and thriving. The smell of the burgers sizzling on the grill, with the sound of the malt machine turning has to make you smile. They even still sell peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the young children who crave them.

The Parash family is deep into the third generation of management and ownership. Founder William Parash’s son Jim is there as is his son Paul. They bus tables, take orders, help fry burgers, ring up sales, greet customers, but most of all they make everybody feel at home right after you walk through the doors. I am not sure why a burger from the grill of a soda shop luncheonette taste so good but they always do. It was at a place like Sip 'n Soda that I had my first Hamburger Platter. And to sit at a counter on those rolling stool seats and watch your favorite flavored milkshake, malt, ice cream soda, or ice cream sundae get prepared is an old tome feeling. The syrups used on all the ice creams are also home made as it has been since the Kandy Kitchen days. This family has actually been serving ice cream to Hamptons residents for 82 years. And the reason I believe they are still successful in this ever changing world is because the ice cream is that good.

Using fresh produce and local products is a formula the Parashes have used since the beginning. The professionalism is mixed with a small town traditional way of making one feel at home.

While doing this story I watched a blonde girl of 6 sit at the counter and eat chocolate ice cream out of one of those old-style metal ice cream dishes. There was more ice cream on her face then in the dish, but she just kept aiming at her mouth and missing every other try. Her eyes wander around Sip 'n Soda taking it all in. That is perhaps the essence of the tradition of Sip 'n Soda right there. Norman Rockwell himself could not have painted that scene any better than it was live, and is daily there.

While leaving, an old couple of perhaps mid-80s were approaching Sip 'n Soda. Paul Parash, who was talking to me, quickly ran from behind the counter, opened the door for this couple and greeted them by name. Perhaps they were long time customers, perhaps they were friends of his grandparents, or perhaps they get the treatment everybody gets at Sip 'n Soda. Old time courtesy, all the time, with a smile.