The first ice cream and fries on the shopping street
Bevk Square is today considered the centre of Nova Gorica. Together with the shopping centre and pedestrian shopping street, it represents the first planned pedestrian zone in former Yugoslavia. What do people remember most? Scoops of ice cream—and fries.
The plans for the shopping centre were created by architect Marjan Vrtovec (1936), from Velike Žablje in the Vipava Valley, who at the time worked in the Urban Planning Department of the Nova Gorica Housing Company.
Although his plans were not fully realised, the shopping street has since developed into a lively urban hub with various cafés and shops. Two establishments in particular left a lasting impression, evoking memories of the first scoops of ice cream in summer and fried potatoes in winter. Visitors from near and far would also stop there. So, who ran these places?
The first was managed by the Ajdina family, who moved from Sevnica to Nova Gorica in 1979 and opened the Press café (locally known as Pri Preskotu) on Bevk Square, opposite the department store. Originally Albanians from Macedonia, they enriched their offer by introducing artisanal ice cream in 24 flavours.
“We were the first in Slovenia—you couldn’t see anything like it anywhere else, ice cream in so many tubs all at once,” said Harun Ajdina in a 2017 interview. He also noted that they were the first to machine-pasteurise ice cream and used the most modern equipment available.
Soon, however, a well-known pastry maker named Snopče (known as Pri Snopčetu), originally from Turkey, opened a neighbouring shop offering similar ice cream. This led to tensions between the two. Nevertheless, their offer of ice cream served from tubs into cones became a true phenomenon.
“Queues would form,” as reported in the press.
As described by Ambrož Sardoč:
“The two confectioners understood they should not compete on price, but on portion size and variety. A ‘scoop’ at Preskot or Snopče became a relative concept. While elsewhere a scoop meant what fit into a standard scoop, it was hard to find a geometric shape to describe their portions. Cones were filled with massive amounts of sweet, cold mixture—milk, cream, sugar, and eggs—yet counted as a single scoop, though equivalent to at least two elsewhere. You could also mix flavours for the same price. They entertained guests with juggling scoops and playful tricks. Children got bigger portions if they stuck out their tongues at neighbouring waiters. It was a real ice cream show—a ‘fan club’.”
They also served iced coffee, banana split, and in winter—fries. After about a decade, Snopče left Nova Gorica, while other places began offering ice cream. The Ajdina family remained, and to this day still serves ice cream at the Press café—though fries are no longer on the menu.
Avtor: Jasna Fakin Bajec
Vir:
Based on the article:
- Sardoč, Ambrož, Kdo da več: Presko ali Snopče?, Primorske novice, 70. let Nove Gorice, 6.7. 2017. Vir: https://primorske.svet24.si/plus/70-let-nove-gorice/kdo-da-vec-presko-ali-snopce
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