For decades, the Banana Boat has served generations of families from its cheerful blue and white shop on Revere Beach, scooping ice cream into cones and building towering ice cream sundaes. But on Tuesday, the 43-year-old business closed its doors for good.
“It is with a heavy heart we have made the tough decision to close Banana Boat Ice Cream,” owners Amora and Avri Schena announced in a Facebook post. “Words will never be enough to express our gratitude to our family, hard-working employees, dedicated customers, suppliers, and each person who has supported us over the years.”
Looking back at the Banana Boat’s history, the Schenas shared how the shop came to be: In 1977, Tony Schena, Ann Schena, Bobby Fanara, and Maureen Fanara purchased the property as an investment after hearing that a casino might be coming to the beach. When the casino failed to materialize, Tony and Ann opened Banana Boat instead, painting the store blue and white as an homage to the ocean and hanging flags around the building to honor family members who served in the military.