By Josalyn Huynh

Night fog pooled into the Parkside as lines stretched out of the quaint neighborhood ice cream shop on Taraval Street near 25th Avenue. Whether the sun punctured San Francisco’s grey overcast or the summer mist blanketed the neighborhood, for 40 years, Marco Polo Italian Ice Cream has served the Sunset District and brought generations together. 

Blending the Italian-style gelato with “unique flavors,” Marco Polo united the diverse Sunset diaspora and “brings communities together,” said Sunset resident, Maria, (using a pseudonym), having grown up with the ice cream shop and is now enjoying her last scoops with her son. With flavors like mangosteen, pandan leaf, and the classic mint chip, their diverse menu provides a space and options that caters to everyone’s desires. 

Others love the shop for its authentic ice cream and “not some big chemical, fake ice cream being made some place you can’t even pronounce the name of,” said John, a long-time Sunset resident. 

After the 2020 pandemic, few places remain for people to gather. People are desperate for community and belonging and Marco Polo, without fail, has given that to the Parkside neighborhood since 1982. People of all ages enjoyed the pleasures Marco Polo has to offer. 

“When you think of the Sunset, you think of Marco Polo,” Maria said. “Seeing grandmas and grandpas coming out to eat, (it) brings a sense of mom and pop shops.”

“When the weather is nice, there is a mob here, and it’s really nice seeing all the kids,” John said. 

But after 40 years, the iconic neighborhood ice cream shop served its last customer. Though Marco Polo plans to reopen next spring on Noriega and 46th, locals say, “it’s terrible.” John has been around since the day the shop opened until the end of its operation. “I’ve lived here for like 40 years (and I could just) go out my front door and get a cone.”

Like John, Marco Polo is the place to go for most Parkside residents when they crave a sweet treat.

“My favorite memories are during Christmas [when] a bunch of my cousins would come out here, get ice cream, and just hangout,” said Jayden, a student at Lowell High School. “This is my childhood ice cream,” Maria said. 

Marco Polo’s temporary closure hit the community hard. Since its closure announcements, customers were flooding the shop, trying to get one last cone of their childhood favorites, like strawberry or lychee, or take this opportunity to branch out and try durian or jackfruit.

“It’s a different experience for me than it was for my kids,” Maria said. It will be an adjustment for Parkside residents who will have to travel an extra mile just to have some of their favorite ice cream. But many in neighborhood look forward to the long awaited reopening.