Carvel showcases 3 legacy stores to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its Flying Saucer treat

Carvel will be selling the ice-cream sandwiches for 75 cents a pop on Friday.

The Massapequa store with its inflatable Flying Saucer (Courtesy: Carvel)

I love it when legacy chains embrace their heritage, and I’m shining the Retrologist spotlight happily on our friends at Carvel.

The beloved ice-cream chain is marking the 75th anniversary of the introduction of its iconic Flying Saucer ice-cream sandwiches by “crash landing” giant inflatable versions of the treat onto the roofs of three of its legacy stores.

• Carvel Coney Island: 2744 Coney Island Ave, Brooklyn, New York

• Carvel Massapequa: 998 Hicksville Road, Massapequa, New York

• Carvel West Palm Beach: 5901 S Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, Florida

The Brooklyn store, in Sheepshead Bay, not Coney Island, but we digress (Courtesy: Carvel)

I love how they embraced classic stores for this out-of-this-world activation.

The Flying Saucer was introduced in 1951 and its popularity endures, with two million sold in 2025, Carvel said.

On Friday, March 20, Carvel will sell Flying Saucers for 75 cents a pop at participating locations.

The Carvel in West Palm Beach, shot during my visit in January 2019 (Rolando Pujol)

“From Tom Carvel’s first roadside stand in 1934 to the creation of the Flying Saucer during the 1950s UFO craze, our brand has always embraced a spirit of imagination and fun,” Carvel spokeswoman Marissa Sharpless told Long Island’s Newsday. “ This crash landing is our way of celebrating that legacy and the joy of play that has always been at the heart of Carvel.”

A 1954 Carvel newspaper ad features a flying saucer, and the aliens who traveled to Carvel and determined the ice cream saucers are better than their intergalactic ride. (Daily News via newspapers.com)

Read about the history of Carvel: