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Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour sets opening date
August 31st, 2009, 7:10 am · 44 Comments · posted by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer
Updated 9/27 to reflect change in opening date, and new info on job hiring.
Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour has revealed date of its Orange County comeback.
The restaurant and ice cream shop will open Oct. 19 *Oct. 27 at The Shops at Mission Viejo. The chain will start accepting applications Tuesday, Sept. 29. (Read more about the Farrell’s job hiring at Handling Hard Times blog.)
The opening will mark the return of an old-fashioned ice cream shop that die-hard fans have missed for years. (Read fan comments)
In its heyday, Farrell’s operated more than 130 restaurants in the United States, including several in Orange County.
At the Mission Viejo Farrell’s, servers in cane hats and pin-striped vests will return — dishing out giant sundaes and banana splits. A modern player piano will set the musical tone.
Owner Michael Fleming said construction started last week, prompting excitement among shoppers.
“The people coming into the mall that see our construction signs, stop by and tell us their favorite Farrell’s story,” he said. “It’s been wonderful.”
Farrell’s will accept job applications from Sept. 28 through Oct. 3 at The Shops at Mission Viejo. There will be no job fair, said Fleming.
“We are doing it this way to make it easier on applicants so they can avoid having to wait in huge lines,” he said. “We expect over 1,000 to apply during that week.”
Food Network alert: Farrell’s famous “Zoo Sundae” is ranked No. 3 Decadent Dessert on cable food show! See video below:
More Farrell’s stories:
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“We are doing it this way to make it easier on applicants so they can avoid having to wait in huge lines,” he said. “We expect over 1,000 to apply during that week.”
One thousand people are expected to apply for Farrell’s jobs. I’m honestly speechless. What is the median home price in OC?
I’m not sure what you comment means. It’s not so much what our median home price is, but how many people are out of work. There are a lot of people that live in Orange County that do not own a home. AND there are a lot of school age (high school & college) kids that need a job. Those are mainly the ones that will be applying as there are at least 8 high schools and 2 colleges within 10 miles of Farrells.
My guess is the comment is getting at the fact that it’s too expensive to live here so there’s going to be less people that can work at a Farrell’s and have a decent place to go home to at night. I’d heard before that Hoag Hospital was having trouble getting qualified nurses to work for them because you can’t afford to live in Orange County on a nurse’s salary.
And if it’s not the servers they are talking about they could be referring to managers. Have been to a lot of fast food restaurants with signs saying they need shift managers. Those might be the people that are hardest to find.
Nurses make a lot of money. There is a shortage of nurses only because there are limited nursing programs in colleges and the colleges are forced to accept fewer students learning to be nurses. The starting salary for an RN in Orange County is $60-$80K. Two of my friends (straight out of college) are earning that much as nurses.
It is sad that ONE THOUSAND people are expected to apply for jobs at a mall ice cream parlor/restaurant, and the Register casually reports this in a fast food blog. Shouldn’t this be a story in itself?
“AND there are a lot of school age (high school & college) kids that need a job. Those are mainly the ones that will be applying as there are at least 8 high schools and 2 colleges within 10 miles of Farrells.”
You think? My opinion?… there will be many folks over thirty applying…many with college degrees that have lost their jobs. There is a huge disconnect between the median home price, and the economic realities in So Cal.
Oh well, back to cane hats and pin striped vests! Woo hoo!
Snarf, our jobs reporter will do a follow up story on the Farrell’s job application process. The focus of this story is the opening date, which many of my readers have been asking for.
No it shouldn’t be a story in itself. I own a small business that consistently gets 500+ resumes when we open a job rec — 500+ in a good or bad economy, makes no difference. AND we are a small business, much smaller than this Farrell’s. This county has an over 1.5 million person workforce so it’s hardly surprising that a business which has high visibility and is located in a popular mall would get this many applicants.
What does the median home price have to do with 1,000 people out of a nearly 1.5 million person workforce applying to work at a place which has garnered an enormous amount of publicity?
Hey, my B-day is a couple of days after that…………..guess where I will be spending my B-day this year!
Oh, everyone that reads the Mavens blog is invited!
Hey thanks Eric! I will be there everyday until about the 25th just to make sure I get the right date!
Welcome backl!!! We used to be regulars in the 1970s at the Farrell’s in Fullerton. FYI, the last Farrell’s of the original chain continues to operate down in Mira Loma.
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I hope this return does a better job of bringing back the original magic than does Bob’s Big Boy.
Sorry but, That location closed up about 4 years ago
Yep. The only other Farrell’s in operation are in Santa Clarita and Hawaii. http://www.farrellsusa.com/Locations.aspx
I went to Bob’s a couple days ago and thought it was just fine. What did you not like about them?
uh the food?
I used to go to Farrell’s as a kid on special occasions. I can’t wait!
I’ll wait till the crowds go down … but I WILL be there!
Well, there goes MY waistline. Couldn’t you have opened up in, say, Barstow?
“The starting salary for an RN in Orange County is $60-$80K. Two of my friends (straight out of college) are earning that much as nurses.” Still not enough for a house in Orange County.
What are you talking about? There are very nice homes to be purchased for about $400,000 in this county. With 20% down your payment would be roughly $1900 a month. + taxes and you’re looking at less than $2000 a month. That’s almost exactly 30% of your income going to housing — which is exactly what is considered a safe amount for lenders. This is all assuming your entire household income is 80K and forgetting the notion that you’d likely have a two income home.
Was their ice cream/service really any good? Or is it the nostalgia of Farrell’s that is getting all of this attention? I used to go as a kid and always wanted the huge birthday ice cream sundae to share (mom said it was too much money) wonder how much it will cost in today’s market?!
Is there any word on other OC locations? Mission Viejo is a drive for most OC residents.
As a kid in high school, back in the ’70’s, I used to go to Ferrells, and we would EACH get one of those “trofts”, (I think that’s what they called it) It was TWO Banana Splits. They would run around the restaurant, blowing those horns and making a lot of noise to let everyone know what we ordered. Then we had to eat it. I weighed about 98 pounds then, but managed to get through it. Sure miss those days!!
I also miss Bob’s Big Boy. Times seemed so much better back then, and why is that? Everyone had jobs, restaurants were priced accordingly so that you could and would go out to eat, and you paid your bills in full each month. Your car was better, ran better, with no extra’s to break, and gas was cheap. You could and would take nice vacations, and every employer gave you Holidays Off with pay, plus a PAID vacation. Those were the days. Glad to read Ferrells is coming back, now, only if time would go back.
Then go to the new one in Orange.
It’s toooooooo far for a Banana Split.
Thanks for your suggestion, tho.
Well that certainly explains your obesity issues.
Unfortunately that America will never exist again. We did it to ourselves in our never ending quest for cheap products and cheap labor. Now I just watch Mad Men (ignoring the self-indulgent drama) to remind myself what it was like to be a Super Power.
way to time the opening. after summer and when kids are back in school.
Is it bad that I’m very excited for this? I can’t wait!
What ever you do, DON’T click on Angry Julies website! You’ve been warned.
This is great news that 1,000 people will show up for a handful of jobs as waitresses and busboys and hostesses and fry cooks. That means Farrell’s management can pick the best and brightest of the bunch, and they stand a better chance of launching their new concept with a top notch staff.
You are supposed to have to work to get a job. For the past 20 years teenage job seekers just had to roll in and have a pulse and your employer was automatically supposed to “value you”. It would do a lot of these 21st century kids some good to have to work for something for a change. And by “work”, I don’t mean some over-hyped sports league or school activity where everyone wins a prize just for being there. By “work”, I mean actual work for an actual hard-earned paycheck.
Good luck Farrell’s! We are holding you to a very high (impossibly high?) standard coated in nostalgia, but I look forward to visiting you in late October!
Boy, you’re negative.
Whoo hoo! I can’t wait! Use to go as a teenager.
Will they take reservations?
Mission Viejo is a drive for most OC residents? That’s quite an overstatement. A lot of people live in South OC and MV is quite convenient for them.
I remember going to the Farrell’s in Orange from Tusitn back in the day. For someplace like that, it’s worth it, even if it is a drive.
We’re now in Oceanside and drove up to the Santa Clarita one over Thanksgiving last year (also hit MM while we were in the area). It didn’t come close to meeting my expectations (or my kids’), so I hope the new one does. I will be looking forward to going there soon.
I went to the one in Temecula awhile back …
sorry to say Not as I remembered… Now there Closed…
Hopefully this one will be Better … It was a Great Place to go to..
Will they have a Nutrisystem Sundae? Hey, Marie Osmond wouldn’t lie to you.
I can’t wait for them to open. My first job was at Farrell’s when I was 15, so I imagine that’s the age group that will be applying. It was a great first job.
all these people are just so eager to shell out a ton of money for some “nostalgia.” Go to Food 4 less buy 5 gallons of ice cream,whipped cream,a few pounds of bananas and some hot fudgea and voila! It’s all about Golden Spoon anyway!
Golden spoons is good but just where can you buy a Sooper Dooper Double chocolate Soda now!! And what is wrong with paying money for nostalgia? Isn’t that what we do when we go to concerts by groups who had hits in the past? I cannot wait for it to open..
I hope this is an improvement from the Santa Clarita location. I drove all the way just to visit for the first time, and I thought the ice cream was of mediocre quality. I thought to myself, I could have had better at Maggie Moo’s. I know the kids will love this place, anyhow, and hopefully they will have some upscale offerings to cater to those who are picky.
I am glad to hear that your project of bring Farrells back is back on track again. We were expecting it to open at the Block in Orange but know that there were problems.
I was the Manager of the Cerritos Unit from 1977 until 1983. We worked hard at that job but we had the best times and have a lot of great memories of our time there. I had the greatest group of employees that you could ever get together. Those kids made that unit run as one if the best, if not the best, in all of the Los Angeles area.
I am looking forward to coming to the one in Mission Viejo once it is opened. If I find out the opening date, I will try to be there for that.
Hey! That’s what I say about North OC! You guys get all the new restauants!
It’s about time we get something you dont! LOL
Probably because 2.5 million of the 3 million people who live in this county live north of the Y.