'Finally retiring': Hoyer's, famed ice cream stand in north Rockland, has closed
WEST HAVERSTRAW ? The rumors are true: Hoyer's Ice Cream is done. The storied drive-up shop hadn't yet opened this season, sending locals buzzing on social media. Now, the voicemail message at the Route 9W stand confirms it.
"Hi there, this is Hoyer's. Sorry to inform all our customers, Hoyer's Ice Cream is finally retiring and no longer in business," a recent voicemail update states. "Thank you for your patronage and loyalty. Stay safe and stay well."
The stand usually opens around Easter.
During a recent visit, the driveway aprons were cordoned off with orange traffic bollards and rope. The sign at the order window continued to carry a pandemic-era social distancing message: "For your safety please keep your distance," with "6 feet" written between arrows.
Just a couple weeks ago, West Haverstraw Mayor Rob D'Amelio had dismissed concerns, saying the family that owned the seasonal ice cream stand could be quirky.
On Tuesday, D'Amelio called the closing very unfortunate. "Everything feels good on a summer night when you’re sitting on the rock at Hoyer’s having an ice cream.” His favorite: the upside-down banana sundae or, on a really hot day, a slush. As a kid, he favored the monster shake.
Village officials confirmed that there had been no deeds or other paperwork filed to determine a sale or change in ownership.
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A place to celebrate
Hoyer's was a part of any north Rockland kid's youth, said Haverstraw Town Supervisor Howard Phillips. "One of the things in our youth," the 65-year-old said, "if we won a baseball game in Haverstraw Little League, we'd all wind up going to Hoyer's afterward."
The classic stand appeared in several movies and TV shows over the years. "It will be sorely missed," Phillips said, "especially for the youth of our community."
Craig Schultz, who owns the Ford dealership across the street and Ford repair shop just north of Hoyer’s, has wanted to buy the property for years. Just two weeks ago, Schultz said he hasn’t had contact with Hoyer's and didn't know about the ice cream stand’s future.
Swirling together a legend
The sign for Hoyer's says it was established in 1933. Francis Hoyer Sr. officially incorporated the shop at 17 Route 9W in 1968, according to county clerk records.
Frank Sr., who died in 2008, had also owned a couple luncheonettes in Haverstraw and New City.
His was a classic north Rockland immigrant story. As a boy, Frank Hoyer, originally Hajer, came with his family to the U.S. from the Austrian-Hungarian Empire (which later became Czechoslovakia). The family went through Ellis Island in 1915, when Frank was about 5 years old.
Francis Hoyer Jr., currently listed as owner of the corporation, is 76. But the shop had long been a shared family endeavor, locals say.
Messages left on a Stony Point number for the family have gone unanswered for weeks.
Nancy Cutler writes about People & Policy. Follow her on Twitter at @nancyrockland.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Hoyer's, famed ice cream stand in north Rockland County NY, has closed
