If you’re expecting a teary eyed owner clinging to the past, Sonny Williams isn’t that.
“Not really,” Williams replied, when asked if he was sad about the Highland Park Soda Fountain shutting down to make way for development.
“We don’t own the building but we own the business,” Willams added.
Whatever emotion Williams is feeling is quickly dissipated by the rush of customers vying for that last milkshake before this century old Soda Fountain shuts down.
“It’s a classic and we’re so sad it has to leave we had to come back,” said longtime Dallas resident Jan Casner.
The Highland Park institution was opened 106 years ago by the original owners. Williams and his wife took ownership twelve years ago after eyeing the business for nearly a half a century.
“It was a dream come true because I’d come here all my life and I’d always wanted to see if I could by it but the third time he’d agreed,” Williams said.
In the past decade they’ve maintained the timeless image of a bygone era – to this day mostly students run the counter serving generations of regulars.
With news of their closing last month – customers are coming for that last taste of summer – including three generations of the Casner family.
“It’s a special place it reminds me of the soda fountains when I was growing up in West Texas,” Casner said.
For the lunch rush it was all hands on deck. Williams' daughter was making shakes and his brother-in-law was even brought out of retirement.
As for Williams, he was parked behind the register, a work ethic he attributed to his mother all these years later.
“She raised three kids by herself and I helped her in a delicatessen in Memphis when I was eight years old, she taught us well,” Williams said.
Soon the soda shop will be replaced by a 12-story office building.
“There's not many businesses that have been around a hundred years – it’s important for the younger kids to come in to see what it’s all about,” Williams said.
But Williams isn’t sad about the change. In fact, he’s optimistic, hinting that the beloved soda shop may resurface in Highland Park sometime soon.
“But someday who knows when we might be back," he said.