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Video: Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour - The Zoo returns
November 3rd, 2009, 8:35 am · 31 Comments · posted by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer
Walking into Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour in Mission Viejo on Monday was like stepping back in time.
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- The Zoo
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- Candy shop
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- Business partners Mike Fleming and Paul Kramer
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- Farrell's soda fountain
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- Lights (click on any image here to enlarge, and get more details)
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- Enthusiastic workers greet every guest
Everything from the Victorian red wall paper to the cheery-faced workers in cane hats to the mammoth-size desserts reminded me of the Farrell’s in Orange I used to visit as a kid.
But the biggest treat for me during my preview visit was the constant noise!
Every few minutes the famous Farrell’s siren would scream across the dining room. Drums would bang. Bells would clang. It was fantastic!
The ice cream shop opens Wednesday at 11 a.m. at the Shops at Mission Viejo. The restaurant located near PF Chang’s at the mall.
Below are two videos I took from my visit: The first one is the Farrell’s Zoo dessert (five ice creams, three sherbets, five toppings, whipped cream, cherries, nuts and bananas) being delivered on a stretcher; the other video shows a customer being serenaded in the restaurant’s party room.
More Farrell’s stories:
Photos and video taken by Nancy Luna/Staff Writer
31 Comments
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I don’t think I want a Zoo, but I just thought of where I want to go for my birthday to “step back in time” as you say to my kid days in Tempe, AZ when we used to go to Farrell’s for our celebrations and just for the fun of it!
It appears to be nearly exactly like it was 20-30 years ago? Interesting business decision.
I’ve just decided I’m going to have a birthday celebration every month at Farrell’s for the birthday’s I’ve missed since the last time I went when I was a kid back in the early 80’s in the Bay Area!
Can’t wait to go!
I have been telling my boys for years about Farrell’s birthday parties we had in Orange. I can’t wait to show them what I’ve been talking about all these years.
So happy to see it back!
Here is the menu for the new Farrell’s…………………http://www.farrellsusa.com/FINALFarrellsMVMenu.pdf
Nancy, looks like you had a great time!…….I can’t wait to take my family!
Dang! Pretty expensive, so I was pretty accurate with my estimate that it would cost about $60-$75 for a family of four to eat there! And $50 for a ZOO?!
I remember the Zoo when growing up. I never paid for it but imagine $50 is a bit much (even though I thoroughly enjoyed it). It’s like the $30 twelve slice pizza at Buccaneer Pizza. I love good pizza but am not willing to spend that kind of money when I can get a decent pizza at Papa Johns for less than half that price. I would suggest to Farrells (if they’re scanning the posts) to discount it in the beginning to gauge interest. Then slowly increase the price.
frombackeast, you have to remember someone has to pay for rent in the high rent distric at ritzy malls.
First of all……………you CANNOT compare Papa John’s pizza to good pizza………Papa John’s is barely a step above frozen grocery store pie………..
As far as the zoo goes…………it serves 10 people………..that’s $5 per person………..for a birthday party that’s cheap!…………try going to Chuckie Cheeses for that kind of money………..it ain’t gonna happen!
Eric: It says it serves up to 10 people. By the looks of the bowl in the picture, I don’t think it would satisfy 10 people. I also doubt that a group of 10 people are going to go to Farrell’s and ONLY order a ZOO. But mostly I was commenting on all of the prices on the menu. I think it’s expensive for what you are getting: basic diner food. And then of course you’d order dessert because you would have no other reason to go to Farrell’s unless you are going for the dessert otherwise if you just wanted lunch or dinner and no dessert you’d just go someplace else. I stand by what I said. That ~$75 for a family of four to eat and have dessert at a diner is a bit much.
frombackeast: I agree. I don’t remember exactly but I do somewhat remember that a ZOO was about $18.99 or something when I was younger. Even adjusted for cost of living $50 today does seem more than a bit much. I am willing to pay for quality, but I don’t imagine that the quality is all that great at Farrell’s. I imagine it’s about middle of the road stuff.
if you split that between 10 people so that it’s $5 a person, even that is a waste of money. you could get a lot more ice cream than that for $5 by the time you split that 10 ways.
Criag R: I hear everything you are saying but………the way I look at it is……..I have 2 young daughters……….if we were to go to Farrell’s twice a year on their birthday and each time I spent $75.00 that’s still only $150 per year…………in a few years they won’t want to be seen near Farrell’s on their birthday…………so, you see it’s no big deal for the average family to splurge a couple of times per year……….
This year for one of my daughters Birthday I treated the family and 2 guests to dinner at Mrs. Knott’s chicken dinner house………it cost me $90 for 6 people……..no big deal!……….good food too!
Wait a second people. You go to Farrell’s and eat a dinner THEN have dessert?? Are you serious?! I remember going as a kid and my family went for DESSERT! That’s the whole point of going! If there was a birthday or graduation celebration we all piled in the car and headed down to Farrell’s for some good messy ice cream, hot fudge, nuts, family fun and then I remember my Dad would buy us all a jaw breaker from the candy counter. If you don’t like the prices, don’t go!
Eric: That is wonderful that for you $90 is not a big deal, but for a lot of us it is. Believe it or not I have an average family… an average family who has felt the effects of this bad economy. I won’t go into detail but our household income has been reduced to less than half of what it was a couple of years ago. We are surviving just fine (thanks to this blog and others for spreading the news about deals on food and other merch) but we are on a tight budget. Tons and tons of families are hurting out there so I know I’m not alone. I just don’t see going to Farrell’s and spending $75 on food and ice cream that is likely mediocre. If we are going to save and scrape up $75 for a nice family night out, it’s going to be very reasonably priced food (likely the same mediocre quality as Farrell’s but at least it’s not $75) or a large pizza to share and a movie matinee or at the “buck” theater.
Craig: it’s not that $90 or even $75 isn’t a big deal………trust me, my family income has been hit too……..maybe not 50% but at least 25%………what I’m saying is…..kids are only going to be “wowed” by a place like Farrell’s for only so long, for only so many birthdays……………my kids are at that age now…………Farrell’s has come back to the O.C. at the right time for my family……….in 5 years I will care less if they are still around………….
Trust me, we eat pretty frugal the majority of the time that makes a $75 dinner possible………..tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches…………many of our “nights out” are Taco Bell’s value menu or Carl’s Jr. with a handfull of coupons………..
Craig, don’t let your kids wonderment years pass you by………once their gone, their gone forever!
Eric: I understand what you are saying. That is why I also mentioned that yes we do save and scrimp most of the days so that once in a blue moon we do splurge on a $75 - $100 night out with the family. Our kids’ wonderment years are not lost on us so I completely agree with you that kids need those moments in their young lives and we do our best to provide that to them. For me and my family, Farrell’s just isn’t going to be one of those until our household economy improves. If you guys do go, I hope you have fun and the kids love it.
I wonder if they’re going to do the stretcher and confetti thing they used to do back in the day…
OMG…. I’m 5 years old again!!
All right! Perfection!
Does anyone know what brand of ice-cream they are selling???
Probably Thrifty’s.
does it really matter??
Yay Zoo!!!! I’m going to have have to show my brother that video link…he used to cry whenever someone would order the Zoo…not fond of loud noises that one. Of course, he was also afraid of the old “Animal” truck so, yeah…my brother’s kind of a dip.
I’m so glad I wasn’t reading this at work cause I saw the pictures and went ” ::gasp:: OOOO Candy Shop!!”
The siren needs to build up to a good loud wale and then wind down, not just have sporadic fits of wimpy half-hearted wales. Get someone who knows what they’re doing to work that thing.
$75 for a family of four?? That is insane for what is likely to be Walmart brand quality ice cream and frozen pizza. You want ambiance,go to party city buy some supplies and Rite aid for the ice cream then Walmart/Target for toppings. Probably cost you less than $50!
“That is insane for what is likely to be Walmart brand quality ice cream and frozen pizza.”
Are you sure?
If you’re asking if I’m sure about the price? Then, yes. I got it from the menu.
If I am gonna celebrate something with my kids, $50 doesn’t seem to unreasonable for the ZOO. I would have to sacrifice something else during the month though in these hard times. It would be worth it though to see the look on my kids faces when it came out.
Gosh, suddenly South Orange County is full of lower-middle class folks just scraping by, with Dad out collecting tin for some extra money and Mom at home canning apricots from the back yard and darning Juniors socks to wear to school tomorrow! Who knew everyone was so frugal and financially devastated down in South County and were worried about spending more than 40 bucks for a birthday party!
And yet I just went to the Mission Viejo Mall last night, and the parking lot was full of leased Mercedes and BMW’s, Nordstrom was hopping with Botoxed housewives, and Farrel’s had a line out the door! Where did all these Walton family members come from who use their fancy home computers and $50 a month Internet connections to post on here about how they are saving every nickel and can’t afford ice cream for the kids?!?
why is everyone hung about about the prices? yes, they do seem to be on the high side, but this is a place where you go to once in a while; a special occasion place.
its not your once or twice a week dinner out place. it’s a special day place.
my 2 cents worth.