Toscanini's

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Toscanini's Ice Cream Company (known simply as Toscanini's or Tosci's) is an ice cream parlor and café in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded in 1982. It is known worldwide for excellent ice cream, and has been highly rated in the New York Times food section as well as Gourmet.^[1]

Toscanini's original (and presently only) location is at 899 Main St. in Central Square. Other locations have included the Someday Café in Somerville, Massachusetts (closed August 2006), a location in the MIT student center (closed December 2000), and a location on Massachusetts Avenue in Harvard Square (closed for renovations December 2006, planning to reopen summer 2007). Toscanini's ice cream can also be found in some restaurants and supermarkets in the Boston area, such as Whole Foods Market.

Owner Gus Rancatore recently published an Amazon Short with author Helen Epstein, entitled Ice Cream Man: 25 Years at Toscanini's,^[2]^[3] which gives a personal story of how Toscanini's came to be. The Short has spent several weeks on Amazon's top ten list.

After closing for a week and a day, Toscanini's Ice Cream and Coffee Shop re-opened for business on Friday, January 25, 2008. An overwhelming amount of support from the local community and beyond provided the owners the needed funds to satisfy the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, devising a payment plan that will eventually clear the tax debt.