Jerry's Sno Cones closes: Iconic original Memphis location shuts down

John Beifuss, Memphis Commercial Appeal
Updated ·2 min read
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Jerry's Sno Cones, the cozy and iconic "burger shack" renowned for a multicolored menu of close to 100 varieties of ice cream-infused snow cones, has closed its original Memphis location after 55 years in the Berclair/Nutbush neighborhood, the restaurant's owners announced Wednesday.

"It is with a heavy heart that my daughter and I have closed... the original Jerry’s location," owner David Acklin wrote on Facebook. "What a nice, wild ride it’s been!"

The second Jerry's Sno Cones location, which opened in 2014 at 1601 Bonnie Lane in Cordova, remains in business, opening at 11 a.m. and closing at 8 or 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Snow cones in a rainbow of colors at Jerry's on Wells Station Road in Memphis.
Snow cones in a rainbow of colors at Jerry's on Wells Station Road in Memphis.

Jerry's is known for its so-called "Supreme" snow cones, which add a generous swirl of soft-serve ice cream to the traditional snow cone recipe of shaved ice and flavored syrup.

Designed to resemble an old-school walk-up hamburger stand, the restaurant also offers fried pickles, banana splits and "kahuna burgers," among other items. Some of the more unusual snow cone flavors include "White Wedding," "Hurricane Elvis," "Ninja Turtle" and "John Deere," a mixture of blue bubblegum flavor and yellow cream that has the greenish tint of a John Deere tractor.

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Equally mixed up, apparently, is the eatery's official name: The news media prefers "Sno Cones," which is how the name appears on the buildings, but the owners use both "Jerry's Sno Cones" and "Jerry's Snow Cones" in their social media posts.

The now-closed original Jerry's opened in the late 1960s at 1657 Wells Station Road, in what originally was a Sinclair gas station (the company was known for its Brontosaurus logo). Its seemingly classic loud color scheme of pink, fuchsia, yellow and green was actually the result of a makeover from the producers of the 1989 Jerry Lee Lewis biopic "Great Balls of Fire!," who wanted the snow cone stand to appear more "vintage" for its appearance in the film.

Jerry's owners plan a second location to replace the closed Wells Station site. "We will be voting soon on a new location!" Acklin wrote on Facebook. "God loves you and so does Jerry’s Snow Cones!"

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Jerry's Sno Cones closes original Memphis location; new site planned