After a week of attending futuristic food theatre and preparing food for the gourmet future from Stouffers that appeared via FedEx on my door step (more on both of those in my next post), I was hungry for good news and a satisfying food experience. Thanks to Lynn Martins, who with her sister Karen Leach run Seibel's in Burtonsville on Route 198, for sending me an e-mail about a 70th anniversary special for July and August: 70-cent ice cream cones on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday from 4 to 8 p.m.
After a Friday afternoon meeting at the Willard in DC, I headed up I-95 for a pre-dinner treat.
Sure enough when I arrived someone was getting a cone to go … you see it’s a carryout offer. I asked the young man dipping and shaping my cone how long he had worked at the restaurant … when he said 10 years, I looked surprised. He quickly said, “I’m part of the family.” Chad Leach is a fine representative of the family that has watched over the restaurant since 1971.
From the Web site I learned Buck Seibel started Seibel's Dairy Bar at its present location in 1939. The original dairy was the Seibel farm two miles west on Route 198 in Spencerville, Md. The new location in Burtonsville bottled milk to deliver to homes in nearby communities. Seibel’s soon began making Super Premium ice cream and became a popular destination for a ride in the country and to enjoy an ice cream cone or milk shake.
In 1971 Harry and Joyce Ground purchased the restaurant, then serving breakfast, homemade soups and hamburgers. After two additions and four remodels the Ground family has helped Seibel’s grow from ten tables to a 182-seat restaurant. The daughters of Harry and Joyce, Karen Leach and Lynn Martins have been running Seibel’s since 1998 with Mom and Dad watching every move from afar.
I can tell you it’s worth the drive for one of their ice cream cones … and you might as well have dinner first since you made the trip.
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