Pure milk, fresh fruit and cocoa: 141-year-old famous ice cream shop in Pune once started as a pharmacy

Pune’s oldest ice-cream parlour is almost 150 years old. Located at Pune’s Laxmi Road, Ganu Shinde, established in 1885, offers delicious pure milk ice cream at affordable prices. However, initially, this iconic dessert parlour started as medicine shop!

As per an Indian Express report, the journey began with a young man called Vithojirao Shinde migrated to Pune from Maharashtra’s Satara district in the 1880s in search of employment.

At the beginning of his career, Vithojirao secured employment as a foreman in the office of the Pune Municipal Corporation. Meanwhile, his son, Ganpatrao, was determined to become financially independent and began working at the clinic of Dr. Vishram Ramji Ghole.


Possessing a sharp mind and an eagerness to learn, Ganpatrao quickly grasped the fundamentals of the profession by carefully observing the day-to-day operations and understanding the intricacies of the work. Once he had gained sufficient knowledge and confidence, he decided to venture out on his own. In 1885, he established a chemist’s shop near Bahulicha Haud in Pune, marking the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey and laying the foundation for his future success.

Along with medicines, Ganpatrao also introduced products such as cold drinks and ice cream to visitors. Earlier, ice creams were made with hand spun pots, which were kept in a large vessel with ice and salt to keep temperature down. In those days, ice cream was available in three flavours - mango, pista and kesar. Abhijit Shinde, a member of the Shinde family told Indian Express that the ice creams were made from natural ingredients. Chocolate ice cream is made from fresh cocoa.

“Earlier, the pots were spun by hand to make the ice creams and they were kept in a larger vessel which had ice and salt to keep the temperature down. Later, this process was made easier with a motor and in the 1960s, we bought the UK-manufactured Elwood machine, which had liquid brine to keep the ice cream," told Abhijit to The Indian Express.

In 1940, Daulatrao, the brother of Kisanrao, opened a dedicated outlet at Saraswati Vilas in Pune’s Narayan Peth, focusing solely on the sale of ice creams and refreshing cold beverages. With this new venture, the Shinde brothers expanded their commercial activities and diversified their operations across three distinct sectors. Their growing business portfolio included the trade of imported alcoholic beverages, pharmaceutical products, and a thriving ice cream and soft drinks enterprise, allowing them to establish a strong presence in multiple markets.

Flavours such as amba (mango), yoghurt or dahi, kesar, sitaphal, jambhul, pista, mango, strawberry are in vogue today. Quality is maintained by using fresh produce and dairy fat.