Happy Daze sells malts, sundaes, banana splits, and shakes in all the usual flavors plus purple cow (grape juice and vanilla ice cream), and pink elephant (pink lemonade and ice cream). The menu asks, "Are you REALLY hungry?" and anybody who is can try their footlong, half-pound hotdog - quite a mouthful, to say the least. Customers can fill up on plate lunches, sandwiches, chili, butterfly shrimp, and even stuffed jalapeno peppers. Happy Daze offers more than just frozen treats. It's now owned by her nephew, Jimmy Scott, and managed by Broadway.
The place was built by Joyce Reaves, a fan of the old Happy Days TV show. The concrete polar bears - frozen forever in the act of hurling snowballs at Nesbit traffic - have helped customers find Happy Daze since it opened 13 years ago. "People ask us if those are the bears that stood across from the Mid-South Fairgrounds," says Amanda Broadway, referring to the old Fairview Drive-in. "I probably wouldn't even know what you were talking about if you called it the Velvet Cream!" "Anyone from around here calls this place The Dip," grins a man in line. One thing customers all agree on, however, is the name. "We've only been married for 22, so it better not be," she laughs. "Thirty years? Is it 30 we've been coming here honey?" one man asks his wife. On a steamy June night, about 20 or so folks are patiently waiting for their orders, chatting amicably with one another. For those who are feeling particularly lazy, there's a drive-thru window. The Velvet Cream might offer plenty of variety, but one thing it doesn't have is seating, inside or out.
The 800-square-foot burger and shake Mecca, owned by Tommy Flinn, has been dishing out burgers and onion rings, fries, even fried dill pickles, with a smile for 43 years. With inspired names such as Mule Slobber (Sprite and vanilla ice cream), the Tahitian Medicine Man (coconut and lime freeze), and the inexplicably titled Turkey With A Flashlight (banana or orange juice, depending on who you ask, with vanilla ice cream) the Velvet Cream keeps the choices - and the food offerings - fresh. With all the usual suspects, including banana splits, strawberry shortcake, and soft-serve cones, there are a few head-scratchers as well. The oldest "fast-food" joint in Hernando has more shake, freeze, and slush combinations than you can shake a cone at, and the locals love them for it. Velvet Cream 2290 Highway 51 South, Hernando, MS, 66ĭon"t feel bad if you"re overwhelmed by the menu at the Velvet Cream. Take a look at what these "shake joints" are dishing up, and enjoy the tour. It was a tough job, sampling the goods, but we did our duty - and savored every bite. But you won"t find quite the same funky charm we discovered at these homegrown, mom-and-pop shops. Sure, you find just that at Baskin-Robbins, Ben & Jerry's, and other chain ice-cream eateries around town. Nothing helps beat the heat on a sweltering Delta day like a good old-fashioned frozen treat.