A recently-rediscovered sign harkens back to a sweet part of Phoenix history.
Donofrio’s was a candy store, which also sold ice cream, and later added a bakery and flower shop. It opened in downtown Phoenix in 1887, moved to a different location downtown in 1905 and then again to another spot in the 1920s.
Towne joined The Show to talk about what was this place about and why it was so special.
Full conversation
DOUG TOWNE: It was the store to go to, started 25 years before Arizona became a state. It featured candy, ice cream and it was a hangout, particularly during the Prohibition days, because there were no bars or lounges to go to. So people went to the, you know, the local ice cream store, if they weren’t, of course, in a speakeasy…