Clifton in Fairfax County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Peterson's Ice Cream Depot
Our Story
We, Tom & Jean Peterson, are born and raised Northern Virginians: Tom (R.E. Lee H.S. '72) and Jean (Fairfax H.S. '81). Until 2006, the building now called "Peterson's" was our carriage house which we used for storing the typical clutter families usually keep in a garage and shed.
In the summer of '05, Tom was looking at his last year in education after spending 30 years and coaching (Laurel Ridge ES / Robinson Secondary) in Fairfax County. With 2 young teenagers (Carleigh & Rachel) and a son (Turner) at Clifton ES, we both knew Tom could stop teaching but couldn't stop working as college bills loomed large in the future. Options of what to do in a second career were a constant topic of discussion in our household.
Returning home from one of Turner's summer league basketball games one night, we decided to stop for ice cream at Woody's in Fairfax. We'd never been there before, had only heard of Woody's but the place was packed! Just a little trailer serving ice cream and there was a 45 minutes wait. The next week we visited again and the same thing, it was packed. In an "Aha" moment, we said, "We can do this in the
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The next day, we tore out the garden (where the arrival and delivery windows are) as we knew if we thought about it too long, we would find every reason not to start an ice cream business. Neither of us had ever worked in the food industry and the only thing we ever knew about ice cream was that we liked it. The people who loved us the most tried to talk us out of it. The most common was, "Who in the world would ever go to Clifton for ice cream?" But we knew that Kincheloe Park had 10 fields full of youth soccer teams every Saturday and Sunday and families had to drive past Peterson's twice. Soccer, Clifton ES, and our friends in town kept Peterson's in business that first year.
Jean's brother Brian Fisher owned a construction company and completed the design and build out. Tom and Jean began by purchasing all the wrong things to start an ice cream business. But through the Divine Intervention of our Lord, a man was placed in our lives that put us on the right path and taught us the basics of running an ice cream business.
Peterson's opened for business in late April of 2006 with 2 soft serve machines, 3 flavors
Towards the end of the second year, Tom was talking to a customer one Sunday afternoon who asked "Where we can get something to eat around here?" You see, in the summer of 2007, there wasn't anywhere to grab a quick bite to eat in the town.
The Heart & hand (now Villagio) was in the process of closing. The Hermitage (now Trummer's) had gone out of business, The Clifton Store (now The Main Street Pub) closed their grill at 2:00 each day, and the Clifton Cafι didn't exist. That's when we decided to open the Dog Pound in 2008 and began serving hot dogs and Jean's homemade BBQ sandwiches. Food sales were pretty slow that first year but business improved a bit every week.
One weekend that winter, we went to a well-known restaurant in Atlantic City (business trip) for dinner and ordered french fries with our meals. They were awesome and exactly the type
Our business grew each year but we wanted (and continue to want) to improve. In an effort to distinguish Peterson's from other shops, we decided to make our own homemade hard ice cream. There are a lot of really good soft serve shops in the area but only a handful, in a 50 mile radius, that offer homemade ice cream.
Tom attended a week-long course at Penn State University (the premier ice cream education program in the world) in January 2015 to learn the raft of making ice cream. Now, with the knowledge of ice cream production and combined with Jean's culinary skills, we decided to "go for it" and purchased the equipment. With the addition of the homemade hard ice cream to the menu, business again skyrocketed.
Always looking to improve, we agreed the next step was to evolve into a "frozen dessert" shop. In 2016 we expanded our
From the very beginning, we had a philosophy about how we would run our business. We were committed to offering homemade products using natural ingredients of the highest quality whenever possible. For instance, we ship our dairy products in from a dairy located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It's more expensive but we feel they offer the best products.
We were also committed to employing young people, ideally those for whom this would be their first job. With a 30 year background in working with young people, Tom relished the opportunity again working with them and helping teach the skills necessary in becoming productive citizens with exceptional work ethics.
We receive a tremendous amount of compliments about our young staff and couldn't be more proud of them. They make funny mistakes (i.e. serving Banana Splits without bananas occasionally or accepting "phony" $44 dollar bills and kindly giving change!) but they're honest mistakes from great young people. The blessing for us is to watch them grow, gain confidence, and form lasting
Erected by Peterson's Ice Cream Depot.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical month for this entry is January 2015.
Location. 38° 46.819′ N, 77° 23.225′ W. Marker is in Clifton, Virginia, in Fairfax County. It can be reached from Main Street (Virginia Route 645) near Chapel Road (County Road 641), on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7150 Main St, Clifton VA 20124, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Northern Virginia. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Weaver House (a few steps from this marker); Quigg House (within shouting distance of this marker); Buckley Store (within shouting distance of this marker); Fulmer House (within shouting distance of this marker); Clifton Baptist Church (within shouting distance of this marker); Mayhugh Tavern (within shouting distance of this marker); Payne House (within shouting distance of this marker); Sangster's Station (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Clifton.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Devereux Station (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Credits. This page was last revised on March 28, 2022. It was originally submitted on March 28, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 740 times since then and 92 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on March 28, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
