As a kid, I lived near a Bettendorf’s grocery store (later a Schnucks), and one of summer’s greatest pleasures was the fresh peach sundae at its soda fountain. After lunch, my buddies and I would claim a row of swivel stools and order one apiece: ripe local peaches ladled over vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream and served in a footed sundae glass. The price was 19 cents. As long as we had a quarter in our pockets, we were good to go.
Today, peaches are everywhere this time of year—in margaritas, lemonade, pies, cobblers, barbecue sauce, even salsa. Yet when local peaches are at their juicy peak, fresh peach sundaes in the metro area do not exist, and it makes no sense. In peach-growing regions, a fresh peach sundae is a summertime institution. Given that the metro area peach crop peaks in July and August, it’s a seasonal opportunity hiding in plain sight…