Chocolate dipped dynasty: How a giant ice cream cone signals the staying power of Zesto

Merriam-Webster defines a beacon as, among other things, “a source of light and inspiration.”

And for literally decades in the Triangle City area of West Columbia, there has been a beacon that has inspired motorists to pull off of busy 12th Street and take a break. To perhaps leave the cares of the day behind and indulge in the sweet side of life.

It is, of course, what is known in local parlance as “the big cone” at Zesto of West Columbia. The business has been operating at 504 12th St. since 1949, marking its 75th anniversary this year. And, for the last four decades, it has been home to what has become a local fast food lodestar: the giant sculpture of a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone that towers over the northeast corner of the property.

Or, as it’s been referred to in ubiquitous Zesto radio commercials in the Midlands, the “chocolate-dipped cone in the sky.”

“It’s a landmark, no doubt,” said Gus Manos, the restaurant’s 87-year-old co-owner.

And the giant cone has become emblematic of the restaurant itself. It’s a sort of knowing nod to the ice cream and burger joints of yesteryear, while also serving as a signal that Zesto is still an establishment that looms large over the West Columbia dining scene, delighting longtime customers and curious newbies with a simple menu centered on burgers, hot dogs, chicken and ice cream.

Zesto of West Columbia co-owner Pete Manos (he’s Gus’ son) said the giant cone sculpture was initially erected out in front of the restaurant back in 1981. Pete was in high school at the time. There was no way he could have known then, he says, how iconic the big cone would become on 12th Street.

“I don’t think I realized how important it was when it first got put up when I was in high school,” Pete told The State in a recent interview.

Built from steel and fiberglass, the hulking cone you see outside Zesto today is the original cone that went up back in the early 1980s. The cone was taken down briefly and refurbished back in 2006, during a time when the restaurant itself was going through renovations and expansions. The cone is bolstered and secured by a large pole that runs through the center of it, said Anastasia Manos, who is Pete’s wife and a trusted adviser at the restaurant.

The oversized dipped cone isn’t simply a utilitarian signal or advertisement for Zesto, Anastasia notes.

“It’s a piece of artwork on its own, a sculpture created by Stavros Chrysostomides, who was an artist,” she said.

Chrysostomides, who died in 2007, was a well-known sculptor. The ice cream cone sculpture he created for Zesto wasn’t his only iconic piece that Columbians would immediately recognize. He also created Finn the Megalodon, the massive shark sculpture that hangs in the South Carolina State Museum and has delighted visitors, especially youngsters, for decades.

The giant cone sculpture, which is a larger-than-life appropriation of one of the restaurant’s most popular offerings, was built to last. And it is in that regard that it’s perhaps most representative of Zesto of West Columbia as an institution.

Some things just seem like they are forever.

‘You’ve got to want it’

Out in the dining room at Zesto, just steps away from the kitchen, there is a little placard that often can be seen at one of the tables, right in the middle of the action. The placard notes the table is reserved.

And if you go, especially early in the day, you are likely to find 87-year-old Gus Manos posted up at the table with a couple pals. The longtime restaurateur likes that spot, where he can greet customers — many come up to shake his hand or offer greetings as they head to their table — and watch staff members as they dole out chicken baskets and hot dog plates and Zesto burgers across the dining room.

A longtime Springdale resident — he was on the Springdale Town Council for four decades — Gus said he likes to meet friends early in the day at the restaurant and talk a little sports and politics.

He is matter-of-fact when discussing what has made Zesto a go-to in Triangle City for decades on end.

“Success comes through quality products and quality service,” Gus said. “That’s all. You have to have quality products, and the personnel. You need good employees. You are only as good as your people, let me put it that way.”

A hallmark of the Zesto on 12th Street is the large number of employees that are typically manning the kitchen and service windows. To the casual observer it can, at times, look like controlled chaos as workers hustle around to make sandwiches, cook chicken, spin milkshakes and get food out to customers. More than 100 people are currently employees at the restaurant, Pete Manos said.

Zesto of West Columbia is not affiliated with the Zesto locations in Forest Acres and on North Main Street, which are under different ownership.

While the West Columbia Zesto has been around since 1949, it was purchased by Angelo Tsiantis and Gus Manos in the early 1960s, and they were partners in the business for decades. In 1996, Pete Manos became a co-owner with Gus and Angelo, and in 2003 Gus and Pete bought Angelo’s share. Tsiantis, known to many as “Mr. A,” died in 2006.

Today, Pete Manos is a central figure in running the business. He can often be spotted in the restaurant, with his trademark cleanly shaven head and a navy apron draped over his shoulders and a light blue Zesto T-shirt.

The restaurant on 12th Street has been a fixture for him for literally his entire life.

“I started working here when I was 7 or 8, filling up forks on Friday nights when my dad would bring me up here,” Pete said. “I would cut cabbage (for the coleslaw) in the back when I was 11 or 12. It was an old rotary machine. ... Then he put me on the windows when I was about 13. That was scary because I was little and there were all those people. But the older guys took me under their wing and they really helped me.”

And he’s been hands-on with the business ever since.

There have been early mornings before the sun rises, prepping the restaurant for the day. Late nights toiling over orders to vendors and other paperwork. He’s almost obsessed with keeping the restaurant clean — he recently invited this reporter back behind the counter to see how clean the space behind the grills was, and how the stainless steel vents shine — and keeps spare machines (grills, chicken cookers, ice cream mixers, etc.) in storage in case one on the main floor breaks down.

And all of it happens as Zesto of West Columbia tries to walk the fine line between being the nostalgic restaurant people remember and one that has 21st century touches. In recent years Zesto has gotten new cash register computers and digital menu boards, and it now takes digital payments, such as Apple Pay. Pete credits Anastasia — he lovingly calls her by the nickname Tasia — with pushing for some of those advances.

Any way you slice it, the restaurant is a key touchstone for him.

“You’ve got to want it,” Pete said. “It’s constantly in your life. You never turn it off.”

Sticking with the classics

One of the hallmarks of Zesto of West Columbia is a remarkably simple menu.

They’ve got burgers and chicken filet sandwiches. There are hot dogs and french fries and coleslaw. And they serve untold pieces of golden, broasted chicken, which you can buy as a snack or a dinner or in a 12-piece tub. And, of course, there are ice cream treats, such as the famous dipped cone, which is a cone of vanilla ice cream literally dipped in chocolate. And they’ve got sundaes, milkshakes and more.

For Pete Manos, the simplicity of the menu is in part a nod to keeping the food moving quickly to customers, but also a way of identifying the things that Zesto of West Columbia does really well.

“When you have a simple menu, you can move the line out quicker,” Pete said. “Simple is the best way. And your product is fresh and you have a core that you’re known for. We’re known for burgers, hot dogs, ice cream and chicken. That’s the core items. We stick with that and just sell that.”

Gus Manos said there hasn’t been any serious thought to demonstrably expanding the menu through the years.

“No way,” Gus said, with a little chuckle. “No way. If you run it the right way, you don’t have to worry about it. If you expand the menu, you water things down.”

On a recent Monday at lunchtime, local resident Mary Sale and some friends were at Zesto, each enjoying ice cream cones. (Which, incidentally, came from brand new ice cream machines the restaurant recently installed.) Sale was having one of the famed dipped cones. She said she has been dining at Zesto for years.

“I’ve been coming here all my life,” Sale said. When asked what brings her back, she was succinct: “The food and Gus. I’ve known Gus a real long time.”

As Zesto marks its 75th year on 12th Street, while also taking steps to continue churning into the future, the restaurant’s owners recognize the comfort that customers find in tried-and-true menu items and the consistency of the longstanding restaurant.

And they know there’s still power in the symbol of the giant cone.

“That cone is never going anywhere,” Pete Manos said, with a grin.