Who doesn’t love ice cream, especially Mister Softee?
Up until almost two years ago, Mister Softee was a name and truck you saw circling around your neighborhood. You could find him parked at the ball fields in the evening and at your local elementary school for a special event.
On March 1, 2025, Mister Softee became a place you could visit all day long and well into the evening hours. After dinner, if you were unable to hear or find this distinct soft serve ice cream, you could conveniently drive over to 195 Carleton Avenue in East Islip and visit Mister Softee’s very first brick-and-mortar location.
There’s a long history of ice cream and community in this one single location. From 1970-1985 this storefront was a busy Carvel store. After Carvel decided to move on, this location was taken over by siblings Pamela Ernst-Annunziato and John Ernst where they turned it into Pam’s Ice Cream Shop. Pam’s ended up being a local and family ran pillar in the East Islip community that decided to close after 40 years in business in 2024.
When Jimmy IIya, a well-known Mister Softee truck operator since 2007, heard the news about Pam’s decision to close its doors. Jimmy had an idea that seemed preposterous because it hadn’t been done before on Long Island. He decided to purchase the building and turn his Mister Softee truck into a store with a front door. Once Jimmy visited an up and running Mister Softee location in Westchester, he decided to take the leap of faith.
Fans and customers would no longer have to wait to hear that iconic song from a distance and patiently wait until it got closer. They would also no longer have to wait for the spring and summer months to get a soft served cone or cup that no one else has been able to exactly duplicate. Mister Softee would now reside in East Islip.
This location would also offer a bit of an extended menu. In addition to classic Mister Softee soft-serve (with exclusive flavors like pistachio and strawberry not typically found on the trucks), the new location would offer milkshakes, sundaes, and roughly 40 hard ice cream flavors, crepes, bubble waffle cones, and ice cream burgers. This storefront is a place that’s nearly impossible to visit just once.
Nearly two years now in hindsight, the successful East Islip location has served as a blueprint for the brand’s rapid brick-and-mortar expansion across Suffolk County. This has brought forth subsequent storefront openings in Center Moriches, Oakdale, Miller Place, and Coram.
The shop is open Sunday through Thursday from 11:00am. to 10:00p.m. Friday and Saturday from 11:00a.m. to 11:00p.m. Check the specific location for any hour changes or variations.
