GEM SPA HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS SINCE THE 1920's.
The last owner, Ray Patel, bought the store in 1986. Gem Spa is famous
for its egg creams, a quintessential New York beverage originally served
in candy stores throughout the Lower East Side beginning in the 1920's.
GEM SPA HAS BEEN AN EAST VILLAGE INSTITUTION FOR DECADES, HERALDED AS
THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE EGG CREAM AND KNOWN FOR BEING THE THE BACKGROUND
TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S PUNK ROCK YEARS.
The egg cream does not contain eggs or cream but is a mixture of very
cold milk, seltzer, and flavored syrup. The Gem Spa owners have al- ways
kept their milk in the ice cream freezer because one of the keys to
making a great egg cream is to use extremely cold milk. It's also 'all
in the way you stir it.' Because most of the original soda fountain
locations have closed, true egg creams are rapidly disappearing.
UNTIL 2020, GEM SPA CONTINUED TO MAKE THEIR EGG CREAMS USING THE SAME
RECIPE AND ORIGINAL SODA FOUNTAIN MACHINE FROM THE 1940'S.
The countermen learned to make egg creams from the previous owner who
learned from the previous owner before him. The chocolate, vanilla, and
coffee-flavored syrups were once made in the basement by the store's
original owner.
THE STORE RAN INTO FINANCIAL TROUBLE AS A RESULT OF LOSING ITS CIGARETTE
AND TOBACCO LICENSE, A MAJOR SOURCE OF REVENUE.
On May 7, 2020, owner Parul Patel announced that the physical store
would not re-open due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and rent
increases, despite community efforts and a social media campaign to keep
it open.