Back when I was a kid, Bailey's Ice Cream shops were a legendary destination for tourists and a pilgramage for locals who wanted to experience a piece of "old Boston" after they survived a shopping flashmob at Filene's Basement or a cruise on the Swanboats. Bailey's was known for it's elegant service of overflowing creamy opulence on silver dishes while sitting at marble tables in an atmosphere of mahogany paneling and stained glass reverence. Part of the charm was the customer's abiliy to take a step back in time and savor gooey goodness along side with "White-gloved women of a certain age".
In 1987/88, a local restaurant magnate purchased the Grand Dame chain of ice cream parlours and believed that the old-fashioned "temple of Brahmin decadence" format was obsolete; times had changed, and it was time to appeal to upscale 20-somethings with expendable Yuppy income. The customers begged the new owners to honor the traditions that made the venerable 7-store chain famous. It was considered by many as "a beautiful concept with a beautiful product".
By 1989, all locations were closed, and the magnate determined "there was no future" for the concept. Reporting on the obituary of the legendary chain, The Boston Globe mourned the epic failure in a few simple words "they took the pickles out of the ham salad". The owner admitted "it was a mistake from the beginning...I learned alot from it..."
What does this story have to do with Lean management, and what lessons can we learn from Bailey's Ice Cream?
I miss Bailey's. I started working near the Bailey's on Park Street just a year before it closed. I had a few "ice cream sundae suppers" though not enough. I wondered if you remembered the ice cream that had molasses chips in it. What was it called? Do you remember anything more about it? I would love to recreate it. Thanks, Susan
ReplyDeleteAren't there any pictures of the interiors of the Bailey's Ice Cream Parlors ? I seem to remember dark gray marble topped ice cream tables with twisted iron legs. The chairs had the twisted metal backs(heart shaped pattern I think. There were stained glass Tiffany lamps in Harvard Sq. (I believe).
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