I can’t believe I remember this, but then again, it was so funny when it happened, that I can’t believe that I could possibly forget it!
When I was about 17 years old (I’m 36 now, you do the math) my parents took us to Florida. We stayed with my uncle in Bradenton, which is near Tampa Bay. One night we were coming back from somewhere and we decided to go through the drive thru of this place called The Polar Cup, or something like that. They served a drink that was a lot like a slushy, and I think it was a lemonade flavor, not that it matters in this story.
Anyhow, there were five of us. My dad, brother, uncle and myself all ordered the gigantic cup. My mom asked for the smallest cup they had.
Polar Cup people: You want the smallest?
My mom: Yes, the smallest.
Polar Cup people: Are you sure? How about a medium?
My mom: I’m sure, extra small if you have it.
Polar Cup people: Okay. Drive around to the window.
My dad drives around to the window, forks over the money, and then one by one he is handed a gigantic plastic cup with a yellow cover and a straw sticking out. One for me, one for my uncle, one for my brother, one for my dad. Those cups were HUGE!!!! They had to of been at least 36 ounces.
Then out comes the final cup.
And it was about the size of a Dixie cup.
Oh my gosh, it was hilarious!!! My polar drink was coming through my nostrils, and I was dying I was laughing so hard!
Mom took her little itty bitty Polar Cup and sucked it down.
Ahhh! So refreshing!
Man you’re awesome I loved Polar Cup when I was a kid (80′s) ,let’s all pool our funds and start a Polar Cup National Tour to spread the wonderfully unique flavor of polar cup! I’m only half joking! We could go viral! I grew up in Largo,Fl. and the van would come to our neighborhood every few days it was Awesome! Does anyone have or can get the EXACT recipe and share with me please,it has to be exact you guys know what I’m talking about ,there’s nothing else like it! Okay thanks I’m so excited,my wife thinks I’m crazy she’s never had one ,but I know you guys know the same unique delicious flavor that polar cup has! Awesome!!!
Love love love polar cup!!! Have missed them for the last 15 yrs!!! Grew up in palm beach county use to go to drive thru on military and a van was outside our schools everyday from elementry up to high school !! Would love a polar cup!!! If one opened up in palm beach county or anywhere near I’m sure it would be a huge hit!!! I’m considering driving the 4 hrs to Tampa to find one!!!
anybody remember the song that the polar cup truck played??
Hi All POLAR PETE FANS
I owned the Polar cup Store on Manatee ave W and 51 opened it in 1984 sold the building in 1991 worked all trucks out of a ware house. I sold the business in 2000 they ran it for a while then sold all equipment off and closed it. I have a lot of fond momeries of the years we were involved in it. We still live in Bradenton, so maybe we should open up again, would people be interested in that? Let me know your feelings.
Dennis Stahley
bigd924@aol.com
For the love of all that is lemony, Dennis…. I was born and raised in Bradenton and if you re-open a Polar Cup I swear to God I’ll move back from L.A. Best childhood memories EVER!
yes yes yes yes….please!!
Dennis, I’m not sure if you truly know how many people LOVE(D) Polar Cup when you owned it. Your timeline explains a lot. I used to think “God how could this business that was doing SO GOOD completely fail so quickly.” It looks like, if my memory serves right, the service went bad at the time you sold it. I live in Seattle now and have traveled all over the US and I can tell you nothing matches the taste of the Polar Cups. Especially the watermelon flavored.
Absolutely! I don’t know if you’re still considering opening a polar cup, but my husband and I talk about them all the time! We now live in Brandon, but our family is in Bradenton and we make weekly trips there. We would definitely be customers!
If Polar Cups are gone forever, though, would love the recipe.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE open a Polar Cup again…preferable in Orlando
I am looking for a tall blonde haired man who used to work for Polar Cup named Peter Lammers from Holland, can anyone help me find him. I haven’t seen him since the 70′s. I would be happy if someone knew him. Please……………I loved Polar Cup and lived in Ft. Lauderdale at the time.
Looking for Peter Lammers who worked at polar cup. He knows our whole family.
Oh wow…I am glad I found this! We are going to Tampa this weekend. I am sooooo getting one every day I can! I grew up having them! I remember them driving through the neighborhood after school. SpoOh wow…I am glad I found this! We are going to Tampa this weekend. I am sooooo getting one every day I can! I grew up having them! I remember them driving through the neighborhood after school. SpoOh wow…I am glad I found this! We are going to Tampa this weekend. I am sooooo getting one every day I can! I grew up having them! I remember them driving through the neighborhood after school. SpoOh wow…I am glad I found this! We are going to Tampa this weekend. I am sooooo getting one every day I can! I grew up having them! I remember them driving through the neighborhood after school. SpoOh wow…I am glad I found this! We are going to Tampa this weekend. I am sooooo getting one every day I can! I grew up having them! I remember them driving through the neighborhood after school. SpoOh wow…I am glad I found this! We are going to Tampa this weekend. I am sooooo getting one every day I can! I grew up having them! I remember them driving through the neighborhood after school.
Back in the ’80′s I lived in Pinellas County and the trucks were everywhere…also they had a drive thru on Missouri Ave in Clearwater and across from Busch Gardens in Tampa..would love one in the Brandon area! Bring back Polar Cup…it was the best!!! Gonna check out the Quik Pick in Tampa this week!
Ok, so if Polar Cup fans are so fanatical, why dont more people run trucks! I would say this solo guy is making big bucs! I live in Palm Harbor, we need someone here to run a truck please!
Also, check out this Polar Cup fan site on FB
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49398561372
Ps. Dear Mr Polar Cup Truck Driver:
I LOVE YOU! Please come visit us in Palm Harbor
OMG he answered me! Polar Cup man came to my work today!!!!! I got so excited I yelled at everyone (while running around like a mad woman) STOP THAT TRUCK!!! Haha! Yes it is JUST as good as I remember. We now have a date every Mon afternoon
I took his business card and promised to call if he forgets about me <3
Tami, that is a fantastic post. I was excited FOR YOU
Make sure you check out the Polar Cup group page over at Facebook. I’d love to get a franchise started in Los Angeles!! (grew up in south Florida 70′s/80′s). Great post Tami 
Grew up in Coral Springs, FL. There were vans that came to our school!! LOVED THEM!!!!!
yes!! I grew up in central florida and we had polar cup trucks! they were sooo good and I’ve always wondered where they went! now I need to go to sarasota!!
It’s true!!! I got the info!!! As mention above, there is a drive trhu Polar Cup in Tampa. Here is the info:
Quik Pick Food Store
6815 North Armenia Avenue
Tampa, FL 33604-5723
(813) 915-8625
No lie, I just called them and I also found a picture of the infamous Polar Cup truck!!
the picture of the pola9r cup truck is here
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v82/CherryScentd1313/polarcup.jpg
no bs i went there today still taste the same
Im from Tampa and I moved to Georgia many years ago. I remember my mom stopping by Polar Cup on the way to my Grandmothers when we still lived there. I LOVED the lemon one they had. I so miss it! I remember the small ones too! I just randomly googled Polar Cup. Im glad im not the only one who misses it!
Will they ship to Jacksonville!! I grew up in Pompano Beach and the Polar Cup driver was the coolest dude in the neighborhood!! I would drive to Tampa just to buy one!!! Can somebody find a number for this new company that owns the rights??
PLEASE send me a picture of the Polar Cup van—anyone!
My daughter and I are starting a facebook.com page called “Help Bring Back the Polar Cup Dude”! Send your picture(s) to mcmickey@mac.com or to erinmcroberts@yahoo.com. We are in Jupiter, FL and it’s been about 10 years since we last saw our Polar Cup Dude
We know we will get your support! Spread the word. We lost our PC Dude years ago but still have a massive craving that just won’t go away.
I would love to get franchise info on getting one back in Palm Beach County. We loved our Polar Cup truck. It was outside our school every afternoon. I’m in Palm Beach gardens Florida and I haven’t seen one in years.
There is a pic of the Polar Van on FB “You know you grew up in Margate if…”
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=1958449406552&set=o.230130637028130&type=1&theater
Had it in Puerto Rico in the early ’70s. Came around in a van and sold a small cup for 10 cents and a large for 25. Loved it.
Polar Cup lives! Yes right here in St. Petersburg, FL. I heard the faint sound in the distance today so I sat out front with what little cash I had and then nothing. I give up. Go back inside and sit in the AC for awhile. About 15 minutes later there it is, he is right outside. Fly out the the door and flag him down. WAIT!!! STOP!!
It’s him, the polar cup guy! He is the only local driver and he has to drive to Tampa to fill up his truck from the owner of Polar Ice in Tampa. I advised him that there are a lot of people, mostly in their 30′s who still love Polar Cup. I also told him to google it and check out this site. I took a photo and a video, for nostalgic reasons of course. I then enjoyed my lemon flavored Polar Cup with a real piece of Lemon at the bottom. I love St. Petersburg. See you soon Polar Cup Man!
Please say I am not too late!!???!?! Does it still exist? I’ve been looking for years. I would drive 4 hours to wait for that silly truck.
So the story goes. This frozen drink is just too good to get out of my head. I remember as a kid these trucks driving around randomly and having some from time to time. I’m 31 years old now and still to this day can remember the taste. I too use to stop at the one across from Busch Gardens a few times a month and I live in St. Petersburg! Been closed for awhile now with no trucks in site for 13+ years. So today, driving home from a friends house today with my wife and a god damn Polar Cup truck drives passed us!!!! NO SHIT!!! I told my wife “do whatever is humanly possible to get next to this truck and I’ll get him to roll down his window.” She did and I did! I asked him where the heck did his company go! He said he was the only one in Pinellas County. He also said they are now technically under “Polar Ice” out of Tampa. Anyways, now I’m here posting this! I’ll definitely be driving to Sarasota like one of the above posters said. Yes the lemon is their most popular flavor but NOTHING comes close to watermelon! Carpool trips to Sarasota anyone? Yes, they are that good to drive 45 minutes for. I’ll be there Friday.
totally with you on the watermelon!! I have an insatiable craving for one that was onset by a pack of watermelon “Halls” i picked up for my cold. WHERE IS THIS PLACE?!?!?
I spent the first eleven years of my life in Margate Fl. I couldn’t wait for the polar truck to come once every few days. I will never forget that taste, and the frozen chuncks of lemon . I moved to Okeechobee Fl where it never was heard of, then Montana. I’ve missed that taste for 30 years but remember it well. I now live in Vero Beach Fl. Can any one tell me if there’s any close to me?
Aw, Kenny, I feel so bad for you: I, too, lived in Margate. Hated it. Hate Florida. Miss Polar Cup, big time! Yummmm!
Where do I buy the polar cup van?
Wow! I am surprised it is around again. I have to ask my uncle because he was a part owner in the company with his buddies. Yes we got it for free all the time and I would love to try it now. Do they make any of the other flavors?
I grew up in Fort Lauderdale (Palm Aire Village) and the Polar Cup trucks used to go through our neighborhood. I loved those things! Right down to the lemon wedges at the bottom. They were great on a hot day!
Polar Cup is now in Sarasota/Bradenton off University Parkway, just east of 301 at Tropical Deco Scapes, 2227 University Parkway Sarasota, FL 34243. Come on down and enjoy a frosted lemonade or Watermelon Polar Cup.
Guess what?? I tracked down Polar Cup! After reading these posts I got nostalgic and started asking around. Turns out my dad’s friend knows the guy who runs the truck around Tampa. He has a business route that he does… so far the only stop I know is at Alltel in NetPark (the old Eastlake Mall) between 1-2pm. I went and got one today. Tastes the same as it did 15 years ago! Sweet lemony goodness. Nothing compares.
Looks like he does events and parties too. Can you imagine how surprised all your friends would be if a Polar Cup truck pulled up? I bet those things would taste good spiked.
Last week I was driving to Hooters on Gulf to Bay in Clearwater. As we approached the light at US19 and Gulf to Bay (for people in this area) we spotted a Polar Cup truck just ahead of us. My friend and I went crazy and were like “Holy crap those are still around!?” Unfortunately it made the light and I did not so I was unable to track the guy down. I hadn’t seen a Polar Cup truck in so long. I’m 28 now and I honestly couldn’t say the last time I had one, definitely not in the last 15 years or so. So I figured I’d search online hoping to find out which location that truck came from and where his route is. No luck so far.
i grew up in south florida and polar cup had a drive threw and vans that drove around the neihborhoods selling polar cup at all the parks and schools i wish they would bring them back nothing compares to that taste maybe someone with a lil change should bring them back if i win the lotto bet yalls ass you’ll see polar cup again
Keep the polar cup alive! I really miss this frozen treat.
The Polar Cup does exist! There used to be a location across the street from Busch Gardens in Tampa,Fl but they have since closed. Now if I am lucky the only truck I have seen might drive by at 2pm. so just keep your eyes open!
oh my god, i woke up this morning wanting a polar cup, there is a drive thru location in tampa located off of armenia and sligh at a convenience store. however while at work i cant leave, and am trying to locate a driver to come by my office. sooo many people here have never heard of polar cup!!!
This is too funny. I was just telling my husband about the frozen lemonade. We lived in Savannah and would go down to Fort Lauderdale every summer when I was a kid. We are going down to Oralndo in a few months and I said we shoud drive to Ft Lauderdale in hopes they were still there. But it doesn’t sound like it. Bummer!
I am craving that taste today and decided to google it! At least I know I’m not crazy and there are others who remember, just wish there was still one around! Polar Cup Rocks!!!!
I remember Polar Cup!! Growing up in Fort Lauderdale there was one just down the street from our house. Loved the lemonade and strawberry flavors but the flavor of the day was a great treat also! Wish they were still around.!
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Polar Cup is the Best! I googled it and came across your blog. I’m surprised someone remembers it. I grew up in Bradenton, my 1st grade class used to have polar cups every friday. Their main two flavors were lemon and strawberry. Then each day they had a special flavor. I also remember the small cups!