JUDAICA
Would You Like a Cigar with That? Unexpected offerings at the ice-cream parlour
“Abraham Walerstein’s Ice Cream Parlour,” writes the Ontario Jewish Archives, “was a gathering place for Kensington Market’s Jewish community.” Located on Spadina Avenue in Toronto’s Kensington Market, this shop, like many others, offered its customers an eclectic mix of goods — in this case, ice cream and cigars (Walerstein had once worked in a factory that made them) — as well as space to relax and socialize. Sarah Walerstein (left) and her mother, Taube Walerstein (right), were two of the many family members who worked at the store, which operated from 1917 to 1933.
56 SUMMER 2025
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