Free Cone Day a Raging Success; Free Pastry Day, Not So Much

Dave Lieberman

​Did you get your free pastry yesterday? What about your free Ben and Jerry's ice cream cone?

I wandered, desirous of caffeine, into the Starbucks at Main and Town & Country in Orange yesterday, expecting to see a ravaged, pillaged pastry case. Not so: there were more pastries than usual. When I showed the barista the coupon on my phone, he mentioned that the response rate was pretty low, perhaps due to the coupon requirement.

I had less luck getting a cone, because as Edwin pointed out, there's only one Ben & Jerry's left in OC (there used to be a half-dozen). I had an early lunch at Lucille's with a friend and headed for the scoop shop at around 12:15, only to be confronted with the scene above: a line of people past the movie theatre doors. As much as I like Ben & Jerry's, I wasn't about to stand in an hour's line for a free ice cream cone worth $3 or so. Friends who went later texted me that the line hadn't really diminished.

Incidentally, it's difficult to walk from Lucille's to the main building with the Borders and the theater; there aren't any sidewalks so you either have to walk through traffic or through a box hedge. Plus one point for nice landscaping, minus several hundred for pedestrian friendliness.

Any reports from the Long Beach location?