Oldest ice cream parlor in Kirkuk’s Al-Dibs revived after 1990s embargo

AL-DIBS – The oldest ice cream shop in the Al-Dibs district, north of Kirkuk, currently managed by Hussein Noor Al-Din, was initially established by his father, “Abu Wasfi,” who brought the first ice cream machine to the town in 1981. Located at the beginning of the market near the electricity department, the shop formerly served as a tailor’s outlet, known as Noor Al-Din the Tailor. It transformed into an ice cream shop in the early 1980s and has since been operated by Abu Wasfi’s children and grandchildren.

Hussein Noor Al-Din, the son of Abu Wasfi, shared with 964media, “The shop opens at 8 a.m. every day for arranging, cleaning, and preparing all juices. Then I start working in the afternoon until late at night, before the pre-dawn meal. Previously, the shop was a tailor shop, and my late father owned the ice cream machine since 1981. The business has continued to this day. We inherited this shop from our father, and my brothers, the grandchildren, and I work here. Abu Wasfi is the oldest ice cream shop in the Al-Dibs district.”

“In the 1990s, we stopped working due to the embargo, and the prices of sugar and milk were high. Our good reputation and people’s love brought us back to reopen the shop and resume work in 1996,” added Hussein.

The embargo imposed on Iraq in 1990 by the United Nations was intended to compel the Iraqi government to withdraw its forces from Kuwait and comply with international law. However, this sanction severely affected the Iraqi economy and the daily lives of Iraqi citizens, leading to shortages of essential goods, including food and medical supplies.

Ayman Iyad, one of the grandchildren, told 964media, “We have been working in this shop since our childhood, during our grandfather Abu Wasfi’s time, along with our uncles and their children throughout the summer holidays and Ramadan. During school days, my father and uncles take turns working in the shop.”