Dairy Witch Ice Cream

Dairy Witch Ice Cream Ice cream served with a quaint feel and modern flavor. Salem's favorite spot since 1952. Many of the areas residents grew up awaiting this event.
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After opening our doors in 1952, the Dairy witch quickly became a Salem landmark. The Dairy Witch putting up it's open sign has long been a harbinger of warm weather and good times. Driving past us on a warm night, you would likely note the long lines brimming with eager customers. Our soft serve formula has been pleasing our patrons since our inception. Banana whipped frappes and strawberry short

cake sundaes quickly became staples of Salem cuisine. Since then, we have added a variety of new things to our menu, including 17 flavors of hard ice cream, specialty sundaes, mix-ins, sherbert, sorbet, and many others. Come see why we are the local favorite! http://www.sousedblueberries.com/2011/08/dairy-witch.html

Two new colors, because we couldn't help ourselves. Turquoise and mint. Original logo.More to come.
07/26/2026

Two new colors, because we couldn't help ourselves. Turquoise and mint. Original logo.

More to come.

People have asked us about merch for years. We never had a way to do it. Now we do.We made a small line of Dairy Witch s...
05/16/2026

People have asked us about merch for years. We never had a way to do it. Now we do.

We made a small line of Dairy Witch shirts, hats, and sweatshirts. They're printed when you order and ship directly from the printer.

A lot of you have already found the store and ordered before we even posted about it. Thank you.

A piece of Dairy Witch can stick around even with the window closed.

The Dairy Witch family

This is Bea Polemenako, in the early 1980s, at the same window the family just closed. The baby is her grandson Peter. T...
05/10/2026

This is Bea Polemenako, in the early 1980s, at the same window the family just closed. The baby is her grandson Peter. The woman on the right is her daughter Marietta. Three generations in one photo.

Bea and Pete opened the stand in 1952. Their son John was three; Marietta came that fall.

For most of the first 40 years, Dairy Witch sold hot dogs alongside the ice cream. Bea made the first batch of soft serve in 1952 and most of the batches for the next several decades, on two machines she kept running until the early 2000s. She maintained the machines herself, and so did Marietta.

Marietta first worked the window when she was 10. By the late 1990s, she had taken over the day-to-day, but Bea was still around the stand for years after that. She had a knee replaced in the mid-80s and didn't miss a season.

Anyone who had a cone here before the late 90s had ice cream made by Bea, or made under her watch. After that, Marietta made it. She learned it from her mother.

Bea passed in 2009. Pete in 2005. We thought you should see her.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and grandmothers out there.

The Dairy Witch family

After 74 years, Dairy Witch is closing.That is not an easy sentence to type. There is a weight to it.Bea and Pete Poleme...
04/25/2026

After 74 years, Dairy Witch is closing.

That is not an easy sentence to type. There is a weight to it.

Bea and Pete Polemenako opened the window at 117 Boston Street in 1952, the same year their daughter Marietta was born. Marietta has stood by that window her entire life, but will be retiring this year. We will not be opening this spring. There will not be another season.

The open sign going up has always meant something around here. It meant summer was close. It meant the long lines on hot July nights were about to start. You stood in them on first dates and after Little League games, on visits home from school and after hard weeks at work. You brought your kids, and eventually your grandkids. You are why this place lasted 74 years.

We'll be sharing more in the coming days. Old photos, stories, and a few things we've been working on, so a piece of Dairy Witch can stick around even after the window stays closed. For now we just wanted Salem to hear it from us before anyone else.

Thank you.

The Dairy Witch family

Address

117 Boston Street
Salem, MA
01970

Opening Hours

Monday 12pm - 9pm
Tuesday 12pm - 9pm
Wednesday 12pm - 9pm
Thursday 12pm - 9pm
Friday 12pm - 9pm
Saturday 12pm - 9pm
Sunday 12pm - 9pm

Telephone

+19787445413

Website

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