C&C Frozen Treats — Restaurant in Front Royal

If the ownership of this place was different, it would be a great joint. Atmosphere was OK. Clean bathroom, old time jukebox, my kids loved drawing on the chalk wall. The owner has written, in very small print mind you, if this is their whole gimmick, "Free Harassment" on the busy chalkboard behind the counter. We didn't notice that before my wife called an ice cream that looked like strawberry, strawberry and got the third degree from the owner about how it was PBT (I forget now, three flavors combined) and he made her try it. She had mentioned while we waited for the gentleman to get off his phone and come over that they had a banana split on offer and our family had been getting banana splits at mom & pop places from Florida to Maryland/D.C. as our "thing" on vacation this year. The co-owner started preparing the banana split before we actually even ordered it and said something to the affect of "...well she said a banana split..." which is the only reason I had them make it and pay for it. Otherwise I would have been so put off by the "shtick" that we would have taken the kids cones and eaten outside.

I think the main problem with the owner is he thinks he's charming and/or funny but he doesn't come off that way. He comes off as legitimately rude. A small scrawl on a chalkboard might explain Free Harassment but nothing else in the store indicates you're going to get anything beyond a traditional ice cream shop experience. My wife suffers from complex ptsd, and thank god, has gotten better and better over the years, but was so put off by this gentleman's "free harassment" that it almost cut our lovely night in the otherwise wonderful Front Royal short. We left the store intending to go back to our hotel but encountered a lightning bug! Our families' first as we don't have them in our part of Florida. So the night was saved as we chased lightning bugs up and down the street, helped out a sweet group of church gals on a scavenger hunt, and sat and talked with an army vet on a bench near the Gazebo.

It's the owner's place, he has the right to do what he wants, but I would never return or recommend this place to anyone. It doesn't matter if you're thick skinned, thin skinned or otherwise, his shtick is simply annoying, arrogant, rude, and not funny. Not sure if it's supposed to be funny/charming or not? While we waited he served about three other groups. He was nicer to each (so maybe the poster who commented on the blackface poster is on to something as my wife and I are a mixed race couple) party than he was to us for sure, but barely. The last were clearly locals and he spoke to them loudly and "colorfully" about some sort of pending lawsuit within ear shot of my kids.

His whack ice cream flavors were OK. My daughter loved the salted caramel and I thought the PBT was better than decent. That's why I gave two stars...

The ice cream was super delicious. Seriously, the salted caramel was one of the best ice cream flavors I've ever had, anywhere.

The people were friendly and engaging. The server offered us free samples and a quarter to play music on the jukebox. The owner joked around and invited us to a parade.

And then I sat down to enjoy my ice cream and noticed a poster on the wall. In an instant, everything changed. The ice cream lost all its flavor and just made me feel cold; I ended up throwing away more than half of it.

The staff seemed less friendly, more distant and threatening. I felt unsafe and just wanted to leave.

And mostly, I was disappointed and hurt. I had imagined bringing my kids here, but as soon as I saw that poster, I knew I'd never be back, that they'd never get to see this place or taste these great flavors.

Honestly, I just wish people understood. I'm not asking for special treatment... I just want to enjoy some delicious ice cream, but that's really hard to do when a blackface poster is on prominent display behind the counter.

Ps - for those planning to say it's not racist, blah, blah, just do a google search for zulu social aid and pleasure club. People have been complaining about this issue...

I recently moved to Front Royal and I can't get enough of this place unique place in the world. The offerings are incredibly creative, always changing and the owner manages to nail it with the flavor profile every time. It's consistently the best ice cream I've ever had and I'm never disappointed with my choice. Recently I've been loving the Italain ice on these hot summer days, also the best I've tried. They offer dairy free and sugar free options so all can enjoy their creations. The ownership is almost always present and their lively fun energy is contagious because they have a top notch staff that greets you with a genuine smile every visit and I go almost everyday 🙄. If you live near Front Royal or find yourself passing through do yourself the favor and enjoy the best sweet treats in our region that you just won't find anywhere else. I've also heard they are expanding and going to have more...