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130 Italo-Mackem Ice CreamAs is the case in other parts of the country, the history of ice cream in Sunderland has a strong Italian flavour. The names of Notarianni, Fella, Minchella, Valente, Fucile, Prenelle, Guidi, Magiorre, Tognarelli and Geraldi are all linked to ice cream making in the city, and that list probably isn%u2019t exhaustive.Notarianni is the name most synonymous with older generations due to their very popular businesses in the city centre and Seaburn. Benedetto Notrianni came to Sunderland via Scotland, opening his first shop in Silksworth Row. His brothers soon joined him from Italy, opening shops in Houghton and South Shields.Notarianni%u2019s (now) city centre presence came about when Benedetto sold the Silksworth Row shop to his brother Luigi and moved to High Street West, occuping the site where McDonald%u2019s is today from 1938 until its closure in 1988. It became well known not just for the ice creams but the uniforms of the waitresses, marble tables and mahogany booths.He also opened a parlour in Queen%u2019s Parade in Seaburn. This may seem like a no-brainer now, but in the 1920s Seaburn was nothing but beach and fields. Benedetto%u2019s commitment to open the parlour enabled the council to go ahead with their planned development which still stands today.Despite his many years of living and successfully trading in the UK, Benedetto A Notarianni postcard. Credit: Sunderland Antiquarian Society