‘We’ve been here 80 years so we’re doing something right’

Known for its 1950s American diner interior, yellow staff uniforms and Knickerbocker Glory sundaes, Scarborough’s Harbour Bar has been serving up sweet treats in the seaside resort since 1945.

As the popular ice cream parlour celebrate 80 years in business the BBC paid a visit to find out more about its enduring appeal.

Situated at the far end of South Bay Beach overlooking the West Pier, the Harbour Bar has been pulling in holidaymakers since it was opened by the Alonzi family at the end of World War Two.

Current owner Giulian Alonzi – who was born in the flat above – has been working at the shop on and off since he was just 12.

Now aged 77, over the intervening years he has come to know the business like the back of his hand.

“You get to the stage where you can walk through the building, you hear sounds and you know everything is OK,” he says.

“Then you hear a different sound and you think, hang on what’s going on? I have a sixth sense.”

The Harbour Bar was opened by Giulian’s dad, Tony, mum Annie, and auntie, Lucy, in August 1945.

“My auntie used to drive trucks for a market gardener in Scarborough, who made a lot of money during the war,” the owner explains.

“We were a poor family and he financed us. I think it was about £7,000 and we were able to get these two properties, which were eventually knocked together.”

On the first day of business, the family could only open up shop for two hours due to rationing – but from day one it seems they were on to a winning formula.

“My father had certificates from the Ministry of Food, so he was able to get milk powder and sugar,” Giulian says.

“He was also able to get black market milk from local farmers and managed to put together an ice cream recipe.

“Within two hours, they had sold out, there was nothing left.”

The Alonzis took £48 on opening day – more than £2,600 in today’s money – and were able to establish a successful business.

From a young age Giulian said he and his two sisters were put to work, helping in the shop.

“I started when I was 12,” he smiles.

“It’s the finest thing that can happen to a child having a job, as long as they’re looked after.

“I was quite popular with the visitors, I used to collect glasses.

“On Saturday morning when they came into the Harbour Bar, they used to give me half crowns and two bobs which I used to spend in the amusements.”

Although Giulian went to Leeds to study accounting he soon came back to Scarborough to help out with the ice cream making.

A few years later he met his wife Theresa, who has worked at The Harbour Bar for 46 years.

“She was a great worker, that’s why I married her,” he laughs.

In the heart of the parlour is a G-shaped bar lined with red stools, made to look like the first letter of Giulian’s name.

Over the years he says small, gradual changes have been made but the overall recipe is the same.

“The basic concept of people sitting around the bar, children coming in and standing on the stools and having an ice cream, everybody remembers that,” he says.

“We’ve changed the lino, we’ve changed the decorations but the layout and the way we do things have stayed the same.”

Although tempting to surrender to modern technology, Giulian decided against getting a coffee machine, choosing instead to stick to the old ways of making coffee that customers like.

He has also kept the yellow uniforms for the shop girls, inspired by the outfits worn by American diner girls he would see on TV.

“The yellow colour reminds people of The Harbour Bar, some people call them canaries,” Giulian says.

Giulian credits The Harbour Bar’s success to the staff who work there.

“You have to have a good idea but the most important thing is a good staff, and when you get good staff, you’ve got to look after them,” he says.

“We’ve been established a long time so I think we’ve got a bit of stamina but it’s getting very tough in business.”

Among the staff working at the ice cream parlour is 24-year-old Molly Newham, who has been there for seven years.

“I work here with my sisters, my grandma worked here for 35 years as well,” she says.

“We’d come down here on Boxing Day because it’s quite a big tradition and we’d spend quite a lot of the summer holidays here as well.”

Molly recalls getting a voucher from the kids club in the school holidays and sharing a big sundae with her grandparents.

“People have a lot of family memories associated with this place,” she adds.

Giulian says four generations of a family sometimes work in the shop, as well as visit in the holidays.

Asked why people keep returning, he adds: “I think it’s trust because we give them good ice creams.

“When you’ve been here 80 years, you’ve been doing something right.

“But you can’t sit back, you’ve got to keep cleaning, keep opening, keep serving and that’s what we do.”