On thin ice? Frozen treats are here to stay, but how and where we get them is evolving

The news two weeks ago that the Snelgrove ice-cream brand is being retired after 79 years has caused an outcry from longtime fans.

The company's giant, revolving double cone on 2100 South is a nostalgic reminder of family excursions and teenage dates to the neighborhood ice-cream parlor. What happened to the days when local, independent shops across America made their own hard-pack ice cream that was scooped from a carton, not streamed out of a soft-serve machine or mixed with candy?

Has everyone been "licked" by the giant ice-cream makers and corporate chains?

"Ice cream will never go away, it's a favorite food for many people," said Michael Farr of Farr Better Ice Cream in Ogden. "But where we get it, how we get it and what form it comes in changes from time to time."

The Farr family began making ice cream in 1929, a few months before Snelgrove. In 2000, Farr bought Russell's, a longtime Salt Lake company. The Farr ice-cream parlor in downtown Ogden continues to do a brisk business.

Elsewhere around the state, Utah State University is still churning out Aggie ice cream, and Peach City remains a Brigham City institution. Spotted Dog Creamery, a small newcomer, is scooping out a niche for itself amid the sea of corporate ice-cream manufacturers.

Around the state, you can find Scoop It Up in Kaysville, Chill in Sandy, Squirrel Brothers on 400 South, Johnny's Dairy in North Ogden, Scoopology in Midvale, the Big Scoop Cafe in St. George, Sub-Zero in Orem, and Red Rock Creamery and Smart Cookie Co. in Provo.

Farr said the popularity of "mix-in" shops such as Cold Stone and Frosted Rock, and the recent remodeling of the Baskin-Robbins stores, are a testament to the fact that ice cream is here to stay.

"But it's increasingly difficult to find what you and I would think of as the old-fashioned ice-cream parlor," he added. "Our shop is small and unique. We do what we've always done, serving 70 flavors of bigger scoops for a smaller price. But I've watched a lot of other people who have added things like coffee and pastries in order to continue to draw customers."

The days of the drugstore soda fountain and the ice-cream parlor spoke to a slower pace, when treats were enjoyed as a social occasion instead of from a drive-through window. There was less concern about calories, carbs or butterfat content.

In recent years, the "cold-treat" concept has evolved, giving more competition to traditional hard-pack ice cream. Today you'll find soft-serve, frozen yogurt, frozen custard, gelato, Italian ice and smoothies all vying for one's sweet tooth.