Customers melt for Carl's Frozen Custard

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- You might think that Presidents' Day weekend in the area where George Washington grew up would center around the first president. But the big excitement in Fredericksburg focuses on the annual reopening of a business started by the other favorite son -- Carl. Ever since the late Carl Sponseller founded his namesake frozen custard stand in 1947, folks from this historic city and well beyond have arrived in droves to devour the cones, sundaes, and milkshakes (which, in these parts, are the thick variety that New Englanders call frappes.)

The anonymous and the famous flock to Carl's Frozen Custard, which is listed in travel guidebooks and online. Just this month, Carl's graces the cover and several inside pages of Virginia Living magazine.

Sponseller started closing from the Sunday before Thanksgiving until the Friday before Presidents' Day weekend in order to go hunting. These days, the time off is just a great time to do some ''serious catch-up," said Romano Settle, who co-owns the business with a brother and sister. Carl was their uncle, and their father, Paul, was a co-owner. ''We make sure everything's in order and fine-tune the machines. And I travel, usually to the Caribbean now that I'm married, but I used to go all over, like to India and Morocco," said Settle, 42, who has worked at Carl's on and off since she was 15.

The soft-serve ice cream is technically custard, because of the egg yolks. Not that the customers care. Their only concerns are shake, cone, or sundae; to malt or not to malt; vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry. Carl's still offers only three flavors, in part for nostalgic reasons, and also to keep the line moving. The line that can wrap around a city block on this commercial strip a mile outside the historic section of Fredericksburg is a study in time management and sociology.

''The longest line was about 15 minutes," said Settle. ''We go through it so fast because we're very automated. We always have the same amount of people. There's always a cashier, a dipper, an ice cream maker, and a manager. Everybody does their own thing and nothing else." The foursome serves about 500 people per six-hour shift, she said. ''The neatest thing for me is it's the only line I've seen where people always talk to each other, usually about the line itself."

There's also a code of conduct. Cellphones are uncommon, and so are last-minute decisions. Some folks take home their goodies, but most mill around the open concrete area to eat. A recent visit on a Saturday night found people of all ages, ethnicities, and states of dress, including a wedding party, spooning, licking, and sipping their frozen treats.

Near Thanksgiving, people come to stock up for the winter, Settle said. ''Toward the end every year, people go crazy."

Carl's Frozen Custard, 2200 Princess Anne St., Fredericksburg, Va. Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m., closes the Sunday before Thanksgiving and reopens the Friday before Presidents' Day. Cones $1.32 and $2.37; sundaes $2.29; shakes $2.83.