I’ve been scratching my head over this building. I remember shooting a freelance job there in the ’60s, but I haven’t found the negatives yet. I could have sworn it was the Henny Penny at that time.
Fellow blogger and Missourian photographer Fred Lynch published a Frony photo when the railroad tracks in front of the Sani-Cream were being repaired. If this is the same building, a peaked roof and cupola were added later.
I vaguely remember having a curb-delivered pizza there on a date.
The 1968 City Directory lists the Sani-Cream as being at 1015 Independence. It says Andrew J. and Mrs. Bertha Ahrens as the owners.
By 1979, Century 21 Real Estate Company was listed at 1017 Independence. The difference might be which part of the building is considered the entrance.
Am I thinking of the right place or am I all wet?
If this building is near the corner of Independence and Benton Streets, is was the Sani-Cream. We lived on Benton when I was very small, and we would use the alley behind my house to walk to the Sani-Cream. I think I remember that in later years it was a bakery.
Now I see the Hanover Street sign. Is Hanover the street west of Benton?
Yes, Hanover was west of Benton.
You are correct! the Sani-Cream was there!….a great place to get ten cent chocolate dipped cone….mmmm…I still get a dipped cone from the D-Q down here, but it not the same. If you were real lucky then a giant train would cross the tracks that ran right in front of the Sani-Cream. As a kid eating ice cream and watching a train up close was just about as good as it got!
I thojght there was a sani cream out on kings hiway near where the food giant is now. Not sure about the building in the picture.
I remember walking from Jr High (later Schultz School, now senior apartments) on Pacific to eat lunch at Sani Cream. Was the Kingshighway/Kingsway ice cream-burger eatery called Sani Soft? It was owned by the Thomas L Meryer family.
Once again, Terry Hopkins is ‘right on’ with his response! That’s what I vaguely remember from the 60’s, when I was a little kid. The train was the ‘cherry on the top’ – an added attraction.
Go Tigers!
In junior high it was considered “cool” to walk over there and eat lunch. It was even better if you slipped off campus without written permission to go there! … Bill Jackson, you may be remembering the Dairy Castle on Kingshighway where David Blattner’s business is located……right behind Food Giant.
We also had the “Snappy Sack” on Kingshighway and the “Snack-n-Sack” on Independence……The prototypes for quick shops!
The shop on Kingshighway was the Snappy Sack-It. It was an easy bike’s ride from our house on Dorothy St.
VAN IS RIGHT DAIRY CASTLE WAS ON NORTH KINGSHIGHWAY BEHIND FOOD GIANT AND ACROSS FROM THE VETS HALL. THEY HAD GOOD CURLY FRIES.
That’s it. I worked there for a while as a sophomore making deliveries. Did a LOT of deliveries to the college. I kind of remember Shirley Golden working there too but I could be mistaken. Been a long time ago.
I’m loathe to take issue with the memory of an old friend like Van Riehl, but if he is referring to the business on Independence just East of Sunset, the name was Pak-A-Snak. That spelling may not be exact, but the name is close. That place was my second home. It was the place to by candy cigarettes, wax teeth, Pixie Stix, Slo Pokes and the rest of the best candy. Yo Yo’s were also available there together with all of the things an adult might want.
It was the Pak-a-Snak. Not only was it a prototype convenience store, but it was open on SUNDAY.
Read about it and two other landmarks in that neighborhood.
The bakery referred to earlier was in the Kruegers Garage, east of the Sani-Cream. I picked up many delicious chiffon cakes from the bakery. Also, I remember David Stubbs working at the Pak-a-Snak (always thought it was owned by his family). In the 60’s and 70’s an excellent day care occupied the second floor of that building – I believe it was owned by Milton George’s wife but not positive.
Walter Lamkin is correct about the Pak a Snack. I believe it was “Stubb’s, Pak a Snack.
They were also open on Sunday afternoons for food products only!!
I remember candy bars were a nickel each, or 6 for a quarter.
I believe this was part on the old “Blue Laws”.
All the other grocery stores were closed on Sunday, as were all the small business’s.
Those were the days, 9-5 Monday thru Saturday..
I remember Sani-Cream, to this day, had the best fish sandwiches I have ever eaten. That is going back about 45 years.
Bob Dunham worked at Dairy Castle during the mid-sixties. It was a step up from delivering newspapers – he went from $2 a week to $2 an hour! Hamburgers were 7 for a dollar and great curly fries. The business was owed by Thomas L Meyer and was run by his sister, Cody Musgraves.
Sani-Cream served great steamed hotdogs. My mother-in-law, Margy Griffaw, worked there in the late 50’s as did Gaye Foeste Blank. My sister, Shirley Rogers Hopper (57) worked @ Stubbs Pak-A-Snak during high school.
I enjoy your comments and photos of your Mother!
Joan….I just remember that Shirley worked at Pak-A-Snak. I had forgotten that. Ken’s pictures and info has brought back so many great memories.
I can still taste the hot dogs and orange slush from Sani-Cream, they were the best. Also, I remember the Dairy Castle having specials with hamberburgers ten for $1.00. I also remember Stubbs Pak-A-Snak on independence. Great memories! So glad to hear that others remember those times too!
Yes that’s the Sani Cream building. “Toots” and Jack Ahrens owned it when my mother, Margaret Herbst Griffaw worked there. Birdie Rader had her real estate office there last.
As with certain items at Pfister’s, I’d pay a truly exorbitant price to once again have a pork fritter/curly fries/root beer freeze combo from Dari-Castle. My father picked me up from Franklin School a couple days a week to have lunch there. A distant relative was an employee there, but that was par for the course in Cape back in those days.
Does anyone remember my mom working there years ago !!! And all the wonderful years of the past that she enjoy.
🙂
We lived at 1022 Independence Street on the northeast corner of Independence at Hanover, directly across the street from the Sani-Cream. They had the best cherry Cokes! You could hold their milkshakes upside down! It was neat to sit on the front porch on summer nights and watch the activity. We could tell what make of car was coming by the sound from the muffler and whether it was a six cylinder or a V8. Ahhh, glasspacks, spinner hubcaps and fuzzy dice! It was not as popular as Wimpy’s and not on the main drag but it holds fond memories. May, 2014 – the building is still there but unused.
My grandparents Charlie and Ruby Farrow owned and operated the Pak-a-Snak in the 1600 block of Independence from 1950 to 1955. From 1955 to 1966 they operated the Snappy Sakit. I have fond memories of helping sack groceries there when I was very young. We have family pictures of both stores.
Yes, it is Sani Cream- I worked there in the 60’s as a curb hop. Yes, great fish sandwich and the chicken was good as well. The girls up front made wonderful malts! I can still remember the delivery guys power shifting those cars bouncing across the RR tracks and down shifting coming back from SEMO out front– they made sure everyone in the neighborhood heard them….of course, when Tootsie and Jack were gone. One day one of them came back with shifter broke off…Tootsie said “those shifters must be weak” Jack- “those dam boys are power shifting again!
This is the building that used to be the Sani Cream.
I worked there in the 60’s as did my brothers Jim,David and my sister Jane.The LeGrand sisters (LeGrand Transmissions)worked there too.Sunday was the busiest
day of the week as college students were coming back to campus and delivery orders were calling in every 30 seconds.Never a dull moment.
Gary, my family lived across the street from the Sani Cream on the corner of Independence and Hanover. I remember your sister. Boy, she was pretty. She had those blue eyes that seemed to look right through you. I just wonder if she’s still pretty. I graduated NDHS in ’63 and went into the Air Force for four years.
My grandparents lived on Benton and I remember my grandfather giving me a dime to walk up to the Sani Cream to buy a cone in the ‘50s. I was too polite to tell him I didn’t like it.
Gee, you could have given it to me.