Gus & Yia Yia’s ice ball cart is well known to generations of North Side residents seeking summertime refreshment. For decades, owners Gus Kalaris and his wife, Stella “Yia Yia” Bistolas, sold hand-shaved ice soaked in fruit-flavored syrups such as cherry, lime, and banana, as well as bags of popcorn and roasted peanuts, from their pumpkin-colored cart at West Park. Last year, Carnegie Science Center immortalized the iconic ice ball cart by adding it to the Miniature Railroad & Village®, where Gus and Yia Yia can be seen serving young customers.
