Location & Contact:

3235 N. Anthony Blvd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46816
260-483-3213

Description:

Puritan Ice Cream Company was founded in the spring of 1922 by three enterprising young men from Fort Wayne, Indiana. The plant was to be located in Kendallville, Indiana, ironically, in an abandoned brewery. Power came from a steam-driven engine and the ice cream was hardened by means of ice and salt. In those days the ice cream was delivered in one small truck packed with ice to groceries, soda fountains, and restaurants within the little trucks route.

Ernest (Snakey) Wagner at that time was the owner of the ice plant. Ice he stored was cut from Bixler Lake (Kendallville) in the winter. This was used in manufacturing and delivering the little companys ice cream. In early 1923 Mr. Wagner disposed of his interest in the ice plant and by virtue of an accumulated ice bill from the previous year, he became a partner in the business.

By 1923 the business was incorporated. And in the fall of 1924 the company decided to build a new building 600 by 100 feet at the corner of Wayne and Oak Streets in Kendallville. The ice cream business was changing rapidly. Mechanical refrigeration was becoming a reality. Small ice cream companies had to expand in order to compete. The new plant included two small hardening rooms and a commodious freezing room with improved manufacturing facilities throughout.

Ralph Atz, Mr. Wagners son-in-law, soon became affiliated with the business. In 1936, Mr. Wagner and Mr. Atz bought out the interest of the other owners, and Puritan Ice Cream Company officially became a family business.

In 1939 Mr. Wagner died. The business was carried on by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Atz and their sons, Norman and Lauren. Under the ownership of Ralph Atz, with an enormously increased plant capacity, the plant shipped within a 60-mile radius to hundreds of small groceries, big super markets, restaurants, drug stores, hospitals and schools.

In 1956 Puritan embarked on a new projectthe opening of a large ice cream bar and sandwich shoppe at 3235 N. Anthony Boulevard in Fort Wayne. This store, run by Norman Atz, would sell Atz ice cream, the super-fine top of the Puritan line. And more restaurants would follow. The company opened a shoppe on Tillman Road in Fort Wayne in 1966, one at Time Corners in 1969, and one at Maple Crest in 1974.

By the late 70s and early 80s, two of Normans sons, Terry Atz and Jeff Atz, would begin to work for the company. Puritan, which by now was known to consumers as Atz, began to focus widely on community involvement. Taking their portable ice cream trailer called The Lil Dipper, Atz Ice Cream began selling ice cream at festivals and conventions throughout the area.

Puritan Ice Cream Company now supplies premium ice cream and ice cream novelties throughout a 100-mile radius from its Wayne Street location in Kendallville. Two original restaurants remain in operation on the North Anthony and Tillman locations in Fort Wayne. The ice cream market has been through many changes since 1922, but Atz Ice Cream holds to its original, small town ideals of producing creamy, premium ice cream using the best ingredients possible and keeping its customers decadently satisfied.

Reservations:

no