C & C CREAMERY — Restaurant in Philadelphia

A place of delicious yet sweltering despair. We arrived on a friday afternoon at 330 to find drive through lines around the store, blocking traffic on ridge. I decided to do the "right" thing and get out of the car (so as not to idle and cause unnecessary pollution) and wait in the in-person line.

There was no shade for those waiting in line. Kids in my group resorted to fighting for space behind a trash can to find some semblance of shelter. Others in line were clearly uncomfortable as well, and were jockying for space in the tiny patch of shade from the store's pole-mounted sign.

Compounding this was the place was slow. Perhaps they were short staffed, but what I observed looked really inefficient. Car line was moving faster than the in person line, which was just backwards. They're sitting in AC, we're being broiled alive by the sun's unrelenting barrage. The eating area is also unshaded.

The ice cream itself was delicious but I was literally exhausted by the experience, as well as made late for the rest of my day because I hadn't budgeted an hour for the ordeal. Wild juxtaposition.

Recommendations, immediate: shade the line area, shade the eating area. Tighten up operations. Our helper was jotting down our order on a sticky note, then transferring to their POS touch screen. Just input orders right into the POS. Recommendation, big picture: decide if you're a car business or a people business then redesign your lot accordingly. If you closed the drive through and focused on moderate parking and a larger shaded eating area, that could be one way to go. Otherwise go full bore on drive thru, and no parking and maximize space for those who want to eat there.

In the end we had to walk to a nearby school yard to find shade, where we found other...

I’ve been coming to C&C Creamery for three summers now. The ice cream and water ice are consistently good (no complaints there) but it’s hard to ignore that the long lines and slow service have been an ongoing issue, and at this point.

Every visit, whether you’re walking up or using the drive-through, expect a long wait. For walk-up customers, orders are still handwritten on paper, payment is taken, and then the window shuts while your order is prepared — no one else gets helped during that time. Other shops have figured out how to keep the line moving with a runner system, and it makes a huge difference.

The drive-through setup isn’t great either. It’s not a traditional window — staff walk to cars, jot down your order, then enter it into an iPad, which feels redundant. Plus, the layout causes traffic backups onto the street, and with no signage asking drivers to close gaps.

Heads up for walk-up customers: There’s very limited outdoor seating, so don’t expect to grab your order and hang around — especially on busy days.

Bottom line: The product is good, but operationally, they really need to make some improvements. The long lines and traffic issues have been mentioned in reviews for years, and it’s past time for this to...

Horrible customer service. There were two girl employees standing at drive through who never thought to tell me that drive through was closed. They made me wait at least 15 minutes while standing in front of my car and talking to each other before mentioning that it was closed. They said there was a sign but the sign was located in the parking lot very far from the entrance to the drive through. There were 4 other cars behind me so clearly the sign was in a bad location. When I asked why she never told me it was closed, she said "I thought you overheard me tell the other person." They then told me to park and get in line. I asked if I could have been served faster since I waited so long, but she insisted I just get at the back of the line while there were at least 20 people in line. She even admitted that she should've told me earlier but never even apologized or attempted to accommodate the bad service. Especially since I had my 4 year old son with me who was the one that wanted ice cream. I am so disappointed. I've been coming here for years, but they just lost a long...