Popular mom and pop ice cream shop reopens in South Africa after 60 years

The Eskimo Hut was a firm family favourite when it opened its doors in what was then Rhodesia in 1965.

Now, 60 years after its original opening, the popular ice cream spot has reopened in Johannesburg and the small town of Kenton on Sea. 

Garna Majorie Austin, who owned the original Eskimo Hut,  was born in 1920 in the United Kingdom. 

Alongside her husband Ronald, the pair moved to Rhodesia in 1949. A few years later, they started a family and had their daughter, Lesley. 

In 1965, Austin took a chance on a little ice cream parlour. She poured heart, flavour, and imagination into every swirl, turning Eskimo Hut into a place remembered fondly by generations of Rhodesians and Zimbabweans.

Those who frequented the Eskimo Hut fondly remember its quirky, popular flavours like the Green Mamba, Wimbledon Wonders and Pink Panther.

The Eskimo Hut has been a family business since its opening in the sixties. Today, Garna Austin’s legacy is carried by her daughter, Lesley, her grandson, Grant Clift and his wife, Shayne, who still operate the shop in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

The original Eskimo Hut building, where Garna began the ice cream shop’s long history, was demolished in 2014. But the family continues to operate the business in a new location.

Lesley’s daughter, Garna’s granddaughter, Hayley Williams, however, took the Eskimo Hut and its beloved traditional recipes international when she brought Eskimo Hut Ice Cream to the Prison Break Market in Johannesburg. 

The Eskimo Hut opened within Magical Moments at the Prison Break Market in November 2025. 

Williams is committed to upholding her family’s legacy and the Eskimo Hut ice cream recipes. “Back in 1965, a swirl didn’t need a long list of unpronounceable additives. It needed cream, flavour, and a little imagination. That’s still the Eskimo Hut way,” she said. 

She said that the Eskimo Hut was always particularly popular on Sundays, when families stopped by the shop after church or while they were out for a Sunday Drive.

“Now, we’re creating that same ritual here – a space to gather, laugh, and linger. Whether it’s a cone on the lawn, a cake to share, or a quick hello on your way home – Sundays belong to community, to nostalgia, and to Eskimo Hut,” she said. 

Following the successful November opening, Williams moved the Eskimo Hut to the small Eastern Cape town of Kenton on Sea for the December holidays. 

Eskimo Hut ice cream was served in Kenton on Sea’s popular coffee shop caravan on the beach, Dilly Deli, for a pilot launch. 

Hayley Williams’ husband, Guy Williams, said on social media that the launch was a success. “We have firmly established that all the old Eskies fans still love it and so do the people who have never tried it before,” he said. 

However, the pilot launch was brief. On 25 December, Guy Williams said that the Eskimo Hut would need to find a new location and was no longer able to serve ice cream at the Dilly Deli trailer. 

“We have run into a problem: electricity. The Dilly Deli trailer runs only on solar,” he explained. 

With some overcast weather and the power demands of both the ice cream and coffee machines, as well as toasters and kettles, there was not enough power to continually operate the ice cream machine.

The electricity fluctuations blew two elements that could not be fixed over the holidays. 

However, Williams emphasised that this was only a pilot trial to assess the demand for the ice cream, and that the family “learnt a lot and the roll out plan is in progress.”

“As we all know, Zimbos make a plan, so watch this space,” he said. The beloved ice cream shop will reopen its pop-up shop at the Prison Break Market in Johannesburg in January.

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