There are not enough broken heart emojis to convey how this feels.
Aunt Stelle’s, the summertime right-of-passage for generations of Oak Cliffers since 1962, is closed.
The snow cone stand at the corner of Clarendon and Marlborough began tapering back their hours years ago until it was only open four days a week between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Second-generation owner Lee Albert told the Advocate in 2010 that once she and husband Ed Schwartz decided to retire that Aunt Stelle’s would close for good, and that day has come.
Lee Albert writes:
We all knew this day would come. Thanks for the memories. God bless each and every one of y’all. You will remain in our hearts forever! —Lee, Ed & Mark
The stand didn’t open last season, so the last snow cones came out of the window in 2016.
Albert’s aunt was the eponymous Aunt Stelle, whose husband crafted the shaved-ice machine that made Aunt Stelle’s snow cones the best in the world.
There are a lot of new places for frozen treats in Oak Cliff now. But there will only ever be one Aunt Stelle’s.
