Cold Storage: The Life and Death of Tom Carvel

In our series finale, we speak with Mary Arcadipane--niece of Carvel secretary/power behind the throne Mildred Arcadipane--about her aunt's auspicious climb and tragic end. Then we'll talk with estate planning pros Danielle Mayoras and Sean O'Dowd about why having seven executors in your will is never a good idea. A legacy that began with frozen custard would end with years of litigation. But stil...

Ret. NYPD Det. Brian McCabe, former Commanding Officer of the Manhattan South Homicide Squad, uncovers the strange inconsistencies in Tom Carvel's death, from anonymous phone calls the night before he died, to Carvel's physician claiming his signature on Carvel's death certificate was forged. Says Det. McCabe: "It's a great case." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Episode 5, Tom Carvel tries to balance the family atmosphere of his store with his less than family-friendly business practices, leading to multiple lawsuits which he wins, but at a high cost. Meanwhile, we interview those who worked at Carvel ("It was like Studio 54") and those who just loved Fudgie the Whale. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The years after WWII are prosperous ones for Americans, especially Tom Carvel. With his 250 Carvel Dari-Freeze franchises raking in some cool cash, Carvel is now living the American Dream. But even a self-made man can make a big misstep - after Tom Carvel turns down Ray Kroc's offer to go into business as McDonald's. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we'll delve into the following: The inside story on why soldiers needed ice cream to keep going during WWII--the U.S. Navy spent $1 million converting a barge into a floating ice cream factory that made 10 gallons of ice cream every seven minutes. During the war, Tom Carvel was selling ice cream at Ft. Bragg and according to Carvel lore learning the freezer business--but it was his broth...

This week we'll delve into the following: The 19th-century French wine industry was almost destroyed by an American bug, leading Greece to bail them out with raisins until Greece went bankrupt--with the Carvels forced to leave for America. Prohibition turned ice cream from a sweet treat to a booming empire as people needed their sugar fix--breweries like Anheuser-Busch and Yuengling began to sell...

Those of you who lived up and down the East Coast but especially in NY and NJ and are of a certain age remember Carvel ice cream shops as if there was on every corner. Now where can you find one? As it turns out, at one point Carvel stores, like those who patronized them, largely ditched the cities for strip malls in the suburbs, leaving behind the glass-front shops that had twirling cones on the...

If you were going to write a screenplay about an American Dream turned American Tragedy, it would be the story of Tom Carvel. Legend has it that on a hot Memorial Day in 1934, his ice cream truck got a flat tire and his profits began to melt. But the locals of Yonkers, NY saved his career by eating up the residuals. Carvel had his eureka moment: Start a business selling soft-serve ice cream. Wheth...