Beloved East Sacramento ice cream shop closes after nearly 30 years in business

After nearly 50 years of serving frozen desserts between Vic Ice Cream’s and his own shop, Jim Burr is still not sick of the icy treat. He has a scoop every day, he said. From now on, though, his cones of rocky road and mint chocolate chip will have to come from somewhere other than Burr’s Fountain.

The restaurant and ice cream parlor, an East Sacramento landmark for the last 29 years, has been mostly closed for the last month-and-a-half while Burr tried to decide what to do with it. He declined to comment about the shop’s future on Sept. 14, but acknowledged it was closed for good Tuesday.

Age has been catching up to the 77-year-old Burr, who put the business up for sale about a year ago, he said. He’s recently undergone brain and back surgeries and wanted to spend more time with his wife, who retired five years ago.

“It was time. I’m getting to where I can’t do things as fast as I want to,” Burr said. “And I had a lot of good help for a long time, and they’ve all left. They’ve gone on to regular jobs.”

Efforts to save Burr’s Fountain mounted on Facebook as word of its possible closure got around, but no one ever contacted Burr himself about buying the business, he said. At least three other businesses are vying to rent the building at 4920 Folsom Blvd., he said, including a Central Coast-based ice cream shop.

Burr spent about 20 years at Vic’s making and serving ice cream before a split with the owner prompted him to open his own business in 1989. His shop took a page out of Vic’s book, with stools and a 1950s-style lunch counter, and exclusively served the Land Park ice cream shop’s creations — plus soups and sandwiches made on site.

A report card full of A’s and B’s earned students a free scoop at Burr’s Fountain, and the shop became a hit among East Sacramento families after a slow start.

“I didn’t know anything about anybody over here (when I opened),” Burr said. “That’s what I’m going to miss the most — meeting all the families, watching them grow up and come back. The kids that worked for you 20 years ago coming back with their kids.”

This story was originally published October 16, 2018 at 1:13 PM.