On this episode of Legacy on a Plate, nostalgia# and homemade ice cream collide in Dana Beach.

Hi, I'm Michelle Bernstein and# welcome to Legacy on a Plate.

Join me as I visit the iconic restaurants# that have shaped South Florida history, one plate at [music] a time.

Let's dig in.

When Monroe Udell founded Jackson's Ice# Cream Parliament Restaurant in [music] 1956, he had one clear goal, to consistently serve every# customer the best homemade ice cream and food.

Fast forward to today.

This Dena Beach icon# not only continues to deliver on Monroe's goal, but with his daughter Linda Zachheim running# its operations, [music] new generations of customers can indulge in its nostalgic flare and# Americana decor.

Thank you.

One scoop at a time.

So, a little bit of history that people don't# know about Jackson's is that my dad was from Connecticut.

And his family moved from Connecticut# in the early 1940s to Hollywood.

My grandparents had several restaurants in Connecticut and that's# what they did.

So, when they got here, they looked for a place.

[music] They landed on Hollywood# Beach on Johnson Street right on the boardwalk and it was called Harry's Good Food.

So my father# and his brother worked for their [music] parents for many years.

And one summer my father met my# mother.

[music] She came down with a family from Brooklyn.

They asked if she would be their Opair# type of babysitter for the summer and she was happy to come.

[music] And that summer my parents# met while my dad was working at the restaurant.

After a while they decided that they wanted to# open up their own restaurant.

And my grandfather's best [music] friend said to my dad, "You have to# incorporate ice cream."

He had gone to [music] ice cream school and he was making all the ice cream# for all the restaurants and hotels in Miami Beach.

So my dad went to ice cream school.

He came# back and he just got into it.

He loved it and he started tweaking all the recipes that he learned# and he came up with his own proprietary [music] secret recipes that we still use today.

What# brought him to Dana Beach was there was a crazy flood that came in the late 1940s [music]# and it came all the way as far as the east side of Federal Highway.

And Federal Highway at that time# was the only thoroughfare between Palm Beach and Dade County.

And my dad being familiar with New# York and Connecticut knew that to be successful you had to have storefront property.

And this# shopping center had just been built.

So [music] he decided to open up here in Dy Beach.

The only# problem was you couldn't get a business license if you were African-American or Jewish.

And we# were from Jewish [music] descent.

So we had to stay under the radar, not tell anybody, but he had# to come up with a good southern name.

And all the streets in Hollywood were named after presidents.# And my grandparents actually lived on Monroe Street.

And it was a coincidence [music] with# my father's name being Monroe.

But there was Tav Street, Wilson Street, [music] um Harding Street,# and then he saw Jackson, President Jackson, and he loved it.

and he loved the J name.

He loved# that it sounded a little, you know, ice cream parlorish.

But what my dad did, [music] what he# always does is he put his twist on it, X marks the spot, and he came up with the name Jackson's.

And# as soon as the Jim Crow laws lifted, [music] my father continued to hire people of color.

Whoever# came in and needed a job were the people that were getting the job.

He didn't look at [music] color,# ethnic background, religion.

It was just whoever wanted to work is who he hired.

In today's world,# some of the challenges in running a family-owned business is just really finding managers who care# and love the restaurant as much as we do.

It's not just a job for me.

[music] It's my life.

It's my# legacy.

It's my dad's vision.

And I'm here today because of him.

And I want to make sure that we# do things the way he wanted it.

And there's no one [music] else that better do it his way than# than me because I know his way.

To me, that's the American dream.

If you work hard and you stay# focused, you can be very successful.

[music] Linda, it feels so good to be here.

Um, I# don't know if you know, but I grew up here.

Oh, no.

Oh, I didn't know that.

Yeah.# I just There's so many memories here.

How does it feel to be 70 years old?

This space# is 70 years old, which is so insane.

I'm so proud and I think my dad would be so proud of us for# keeping it going since he passed in 2014.

Right.

So, for me, it's special.

I feel blessed.

I feel# honored that I was able to continue his legacy.

Monroe was an incredible man.

He was special.# Yeah, he really was.

Um, he was like larger than life.

I say he was like a an early Willy# Wonka to me.

Couldn't I couldn't agree more.

So, talk to me a little bit about the# candy because I love that you walk in and you're [music] greeted with all this kind# of old school candy that I haven't seen in a really long time.

In fact, I [music] didn't even# know they still made some of this stuff.

Yeah, this is our old school candy and toy store.

And# it it has been a challenge.

A lot of the oldtime candy stores have been closing down.

So sometimes# we can't get certain items.

So this is what we [music] have now and it's very popular.

People# love it.

All the candy in the barrels we bag ourselves every day.

So it's extremely fresh.

Yes.# It's so fresh that we say and we only bag what we need cuz we can make more daily.

Right.

And it# is.

It feels so soft.

It's so soft.

I always tell everyone you're never going to have a gummy# bear this soft because it hasn't been sitting in a bag.

Right.

I'm gonna have to take some for my son# later.

This is amazing.

But I haven't seen some of this stuff in a really long time.

We have the pop# rocks and we have the candy necklaces.

This has me crazy.

You candy.

I didn't even know that that# even existed.

These are my absolute favorite.

The gold mines.

I don't remember those.

No, actually.# And the bubble gum, the bubble gum, and the Tootsie Rolls.

This is amazing.

So, we do.

This# is so cool.

We have so much fun.

But this is the first thing people see and they love it, right?# We have the violets and the chowters.

Amazing.

Even Chuckles.

Wow.

The Neco wafers are actually# be they [music] became extinct and somebody just bought the company and they're now making the# Neco rolls again.

Wow.

This is great.

[music] [music] [music] [music] Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so# much.

Wow.

Thank you.

What do you think of that?

I think it's really big.

[laughter] This# is the small one, Michelle.

No, it's not.

We This is a half pound hot dog that's made special# for Jackson's.

And we actually have a pounder.

That's not possible.

Do people actually# eat the whole thing all the time?

Do they really?

They really do come hungry when# they come to Jackson's.

They're ready to go.

Or sometimes they share it.

Right.

Of course.# And then is this corn beef?

This is actually our pastrami.

It's very lean.

It's delicious.

Want to# try it?

Yes.

I don't even know what to try first.

Well, it's really good with the deli mustard,# I'd say.

So, I would say let's put some deli mustard.

Do it.

Okay.

You mind if I eat it with# a fork and a knife?

Absolutely not.

Go for it.

My goodness gracious.

This would probably# take me about four days to finish this thing.

You got to try the bread though.

That's the That's# what is incredible.

It's made from the local bakery and it's just It's beautiful.

Did you say# it was like hala?

It is like a hala bread that we we cut off the sides and we toast it.

So,# it's perfect.

It's the best combination.

Delish.

Mhm.

That's so good.

And of course,# we serve it um as a platter if you'd like.

We have our seasoned fries.

And then we also# have our onion rings coming in on an airplane.

Wa!

We have our homemade ramlad# and our homemade honey mustard.

This is so cute.

Oh my god, you guys.# Look at this.

It's like about to take off.

We say incoming.

The sauces really make it# perfect.

You can dip.

Okay, I'm in.

Let's do it.

How many onion rings do you# think you go through in a year?

probably thousands.

They're very popular# because you'll see why.

They're crunchy.

They're warm.

They hold together.

They're# delicious.

And you know what I love?

They don't You know how sometimes you'll# bite into it and the onion pulls out?

Yeah.

Ours holds.

That was very important to me# when I was Very smart.

Searching for onions.

Did you put this on the menu?

No, my father# did.

Wow.

Mhm.

Oh, this is our homemade root beer.

Jackson's not only makes homemade ice cream,# they make homemade sodas.

Wow.

So, we have cola.

This is so big.

We do serve it in a 32 oz# cup.

Okay.

But we do make all of our sodas in house.

All our syrups, our toppings, our whipped# cream, everything.

I just I love that your father decided to make everything homemade.

It It makes# a big difference.

What a beautiful thing.

Saloo, by the way.

The smell of it is even to die for.# This is so good.

It's homemade.

It is homemade.

And of course, it makes the best root beer# floats.

You know, the biggest problem though, you can't take that home cuz it's not going# to be as good when you get home with it, will it?

Well, we have tough cups, but it# may not make it home.

This is just beautiful.

At Jackson's, you can truly get a little# bit of everything, even the kitchen sink.

Wow.

Oh my goodness gracious.

That's# a beautiful one.

That is insane.

So, no visit is complete [music] at Jackson's# without the kitchen sink.

Thank you.

[laughter] This is beautiful, Linda.

Thank you.

Thank you so# much.

And the whole idea about the sink was for [music] families to gather together to celebrate# the wow effect.

It was [music] something that you couldn't duplicate because it's in an actual# kitchen sink.

And Jackson's actually has the trademark on this sink.

So, nobody else can copy# [music] it.

They could call it a kitchen sink, but they cannot make it in.

I love the sense of humor# throughout all of Jackson's.

[music] And I love that you've continued your amazing dad's legacy.# Congratulations.

[music] This place has always been a huge part of history in South Florida.

And# [music] thank goodness that you and your family are continuing this incredible multi-generational# restaurant.

I'm so happy that it's here and happy that it's just as good as it always was.# Thank you, Michelle.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm Michelle [music] Bernstein# and this is Legacy on a Plate.

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