Each year, thousands of people make the trek to the southern New Jersey beaches. There are several ways to get to any of the 14 different beach towns in southern New Jersey. More cars on the roads means more traffic, especially in the summer months. With the opening of the Atlantic City Expressway in 1964, congestion on the other highways decreased significantly. I live in Cherry Hill, New Jersey; and if I put an address to a beach town into Waze, it will inevitably want to take me to the Atlantic City Expressway. I never go that way.

Over the years I have taken Route 30 to the beach. Whether it’s a summer holiday weekend, a typical summer weekend or just a weekday, Route 30 has a consistent amount of traffic. Built in 1926, Route 30 runs from Pennsylvania to Camden, New Jersey, and down to the southern New Jersey beach towns. The road has many retail stores, restaurants and housing developments. There are traffic lights, but not enough to cause any inconvenience. For me, driving to the beach takes about an hour and 15 minutes. Driving this route for the last 30 years, I have developed routines. I stop at the same place for gas, at the same farmers’ market to get fresh fruits and vegetables (I love Jersey corn), and for ice cream.

When I stop for ice cream, it’s not any old ice cream shop, it’s a New Jersey landmark. Royale Crown Ice Cream is located in Hammonton, New Jersey, on Route 30. The shop has been voted one of the top ice cream shops in the state many years in a row. Royale Crown opened in 1953. The shop has indoor and outdoor seating but no wait staff. The line tends to snake on the inside of the building and always seems to have a line formed outside for the overflow crowd. They make traditional sundaes with toppings offerings too numerous to name. When I was last there, they had 26 hand-dipped flavors, eight custard flavors and eight gelato flavors. Many in front of me had a hard time choosing what they wanted. The shop is best known for homemade ice cream, frozen custard and ice cream cakes. Its seasonal homemade flavors truly make the shop stand out. On my latest trip, the seasonal flavors many were trying were peach custard, peach hand-dipped ice cream and hand-dipped pumpkin. The flavor that many come for is blueberry ice cream (they were out on my last trip). Hammonton is the blueberry capital of the world. They have many blueberry farms, so they typically have an ample supply. However, demand is high, so they do sell out on occasion.

I always enjoy a sugar cone with hand-dipped ice cream, so on my last trip, I got a sugar cone with chocolate, jimmies (it’s a Jersey thing) and nuts drizzled on the outside of the cone with hand-dipped mint chocolate chip ice cream. The portions are enormous, but no one complains.

Every summer, when my family and I plan to go to the beach, we always make sure to stop at Royale Crown for ice cream. Some traditions are just too sweet to pass up. Pun intended.

— Sean Olin, director of sales