Reese's Dairy Bar — Restaurant in Town of Aurelius

I love this place's ice cream, and as the father of a one-year-old daughter I was proud to bring her to the ice cream place I always went to as a kid. Tonight, however, something happened that has convinced me to never go there again.

The staff was playing some music pretty loudly and they were hooting and hollering like drunk college students. I didn't really mind it, so I let it be. But a fellow customer, a woman with another woman and a young child, told the staff that they were being unprofessional. The music was turned off and a man said "excuse me?" So the customer repeated herself. The man said "excuse me?!" and the customer repeated herself again. Then the guy said (in a loud voice and a bitter tone) "I'm sorry that you feel that way, but we weren't playing anything offensive. There weren't even any lyrics in the song, so there weren't any swear words. I think there are stores that play music a LOT louder than we were. Have you been to the Carousel mall lately?" The woman said "It's not really just the music. But forget it," clearly wanting to end the conversation. The guy then got louder and said "You don't come into my store and dismiss me like that." She said "Your store?" And he said "My store." She said "You're not the owner." He said "I am the owner! And you don't come in to MY store and complain about MY staff and then just dismiss me like that. If you don't like it here, there's the door." The "owner" (I don't know if he's actually the owner or not) then came around the counter and got in the woman's face, demanding that she leaves. The other employees were saying "Tom, Tom" and pulling at him. I thought he might punch this lady in front of her kid. They started leaving, and so did we, all while Tom is screaming at them about his store this, his store that, get out of here, you're not welcome here, etc. I still can't believe this really happened. I'll never be going back to Reese's again. And neither should anyone else.

(I'm posting this under an alias because I have a legitimate fear of this Tom's...

This is going to be a bit of an odd review. The reason? I have never been to Reese's Dairy Bar while it was open. You see, my parents were the original owners of this establishment. Back then it was known as Shep's Marvel Dairy Bar. The Reeses bought this business from my parents in 1973, and the only time I've been back was in March of 2007. The owner, Mr Reese's son, just happened to be there the day I stopped by. He was getting things ready to open for business a few weeks away. Back then, the miniature golf course that my father and uncles and grandfathers and all of their friends built by hand was still there. Every building was also built by hand. The church, the school house, the windmill, all of them. They were stored away for the winter, but still in use. Sad to see that's no longer the case, but life moves on and perhaps they were just beyond repair or perhaps just a bit too plain and old for today's market. In any case, when I visited, there was still a newspaper article framed and hanging inside that told the story of the Reese's buying the business from my father, Thomas Shepard. It really blew me away that the business was still in the Reese's family, I really liked that. My dad would have liked that as well, but unfortunately he passed in 2004. Anyway, enough of that walk down memory lane. I really hope that all you good folks up there in my old hometown of Auburn still enjoy all of that great ice cream, and if you would, let me know if that article is still hanging on the wall inside. I would love to see a picture of it. And thank you once again to Mr Reese, the current owner, who was nice enough to show me around when I was up there in 2007. Thanks for taking care of that little ice cream stand, it means a lot. Sincerely, John Shepard.

P.S. I see now reading the reviews that this business is up for sale. I'm wondering if the Reeses are selling it or if it has already passed from them to someone else. If anyone could let me know, that would be...

My parents have been life-long residents of Auburn and my sisters and I return with our children to visit regularly. Having grown up in Auburn, we have nostalgia for Reese's Mini-golf and Dairy Bar on Clark Street. My sister and I took our young children to Reese's on Saturday July 21st and the events surrounding this trip have left such a distasteful impression on me that I feel compelled to share this abhorrent experience. As my children were golfing my sister was stung by a bee which had built a nest on the golf course. When I informed the man who was working he became rude, irate and insulting. I asked for his name so that I could later share my concerns with management, and he became threatening and hostile, yelling and exhibiting stalking behavior. With my wide-eyed 4 year old staring at me, I asked to speak to the supervisor. She came out and informed me that she understood and that Tom, the man in question, "frequently took his moods out on the customer". She went on to explain that while she commiserated, there was nothing she could do as he was the owner. Some of my favorite memories growing up were times spent with family at Reese's. I am sad to say because of one mans threatening and hostile behavior towards me and my family that my children will never share fond memories of this establishment. Beware that Reese's is no longer the beloved family experience of...