This Old-School North Carolina Soda Fountain Still Serves Classic Treats For Around $5
Well now, this is the sort of place that makes modern life feel unnecessarily complicated.
You step inside and suddenly the whole idea of a proper soda fountain makes perfect sense again. The pace softens.
The room feels cheerful. Even ordering dessert starts to feel like something people ought to dress up for.
North Carolina still has a spot where that old-fashioned charm has not been polished into something artificial.
It feels lived-in rather than staged.
The milkshakes come with the kind of personality that makes a paper cup seem deeply disappointing afterward, and the whole experience carries the warmth of a neighborhood place that has had years to become part of local routines.
There is something wonderfully stubborn about that.
No need to reinvent the wheel.
Just keep the counter welcoming, the treats generous, and the old-school spirit alive.
That formula has worked for decades, and frankly, it still has plenty of mileage left.
Slide Onto A Counter Stool And Order Something Old-School
The room does a remarkable amount of storytelling before the menu even opens. Pittsboro’s first pharmacy operated on this site beginning in 1916.
A soda fountain remained part of the building for decades before the space later became a furniture store. Gene Oldham bought the property in 1996 and set out to recreate its earlier character.
S & T’s opened the following October. The name comes from his sons, Steve and TJ.
Much of the interior was deliberately built around period details rather than modern diner decoration. Mahogany furniture came from an old drugstore in Mebane and was carefully restored.
Three older counters were combined to create the marble counter visitors see today. A tin ceiling and tile floor helped complete the transformation.
Antique pharmacy pieces add another connection to the building’s earlier life. Grab one of the counter stools and the setting begins doing half the work.
S & T’s currently opens Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sunday and Monday are closed.
You Can Still Grab A Classic Treat Without Spending Much
A few dollars still goes surprisingly far on the soda-fountain side of the menu. Freshly squeezed lemonade, limeade, and orangeade cost $4.
A Cherry Smash also costs $4. Flavored Coke or Pepsi drinks come in at the same price.
One scoop of ice cream is $4.25, while a fudge brownie costs $4.50. Apple pie and an apple turnover are each $5.75.
Those prices make the “around $5” idea realistic for several classic treats. Bigger desserts naturally cost more.
Floats are $6.99, while hand-spun Super Shakes are also $6.99. A malt costs slightly more at $7.25.
Sundaes begin at $9.75, and the enormous banana split costs $16.99. The menu gives visitors room to choose the size of the splurge.
Stop in for a soda and keep the total small. Add ice cream when the craving wins.
Or bring someone willing to help with one of the desserts built for sharing.
Start With A Hand-Spun Milkshake Or Ice Cream Float
More than 32 ice cream flavors turn a simple shake order into a surprisingly long decision. Current choices include classics such as vanilla bean, chocolate, strawberry, butter pecan, and black cherry.
The case also ventures into banana pudding, Moose Tracks, praline pecan, orange pineapple, and strawberry cheesecake. Sherbet and lower-sugar options add a few more directions.
Steve’s Super Shake uses the customer’s choice of hand-scooped ice cream. Whipped cream and sprinkles finish it off for $6.99.
The Dreamsicle Shake pairs vanilla ice cream with orange sherbet at the same price. Floats also cost $6.99 and combine soda with a scoop of ice cream.
S & T’s serves its restaurant shakes with the old-fashioned mixing cup alongside the glass. That small touch makes the order feel especially suited to the room.
There is no need to chase the most elaborate flavor. Pick the ice cream you already love, let the soda fountain do its work, and settle in before deciding whether dessert somehow needs another dessert.
Try The Sundaes That Keep Regulars Coming Back
The banana split is not pretending to be a modest ending. Three scoops of ice cream sit over a sliced banana with pineapple, chocolate syrup, strawberries, crushed cherries, whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry.
Walnuts are optional. The current price is $16.99, which makes sharing far more sensible than treating it like a casual single scoop.
Standard sundaes begin at $9.75 for one scoop. A two-scoop version costs $11.50.
Hot fudge, caramel, butterscotch, pineapple, strawberry, and other toppings can be added for $1.75 each. The Cola Sundae offers another old-school option.
It pours pure Pepsi syrup over ice cream, then adds whipped cream, sprinkles, and a cherry. The oversized banana split remains one of the shop’s best-known desserts.
This is the section of the menu to approach with a little strategy. Bring a friend, choose three flavors carefully, and accept that the spoon may be doing more work than expected.
Pair Something Sweet With A Simple Diner-Style Lunch
Dessert may get the attention, but the savory menu gives S & T’s enough range for a full meal. A basic County Fair Hot Dog starts at $6.50.
The Hillsboro Street Burger costs $9.75, while the Pimento Cheeseburger comes in at $10.75. Grilled cheese remains one of the simpler options at $6.99.
The menu also carries several dishes connected to Chapel Hill’s former Rathskeller. Steve’s Gambler features thinly sliced steak cooked on a hot skillet with grilled onions, bread, and steak fries.
The famous Lasagna arrives with meat sauce and plenty of cheese. Chicken Parmesan, quesadillas, sandwiches, salads, and corn dog nuggets broaden the choices.
Nothing forces you to order a huge meal before ice cream. A hot dog and soda can keep things uncomplicated.
A burger followed by a shake makes the visit more substantial. The smartest move may be checking the dessert page first.
Knowing what you want later can prevent lunch from taking up every available inch of appetite.
Take In The Retro Details While Your Order Is Made
Waiting for a milkshake is easier when the room keeps giving you things to inspect. The old mahogany furniture is one of the most striking details.
It came from a historic drugstore in Mebane and was restored before S & T’s opened. Craftspeople rebuilt woodwork, booths, tables, and decorative pieces to match the soda-fountain vision.
The marble counter was created from three older counters rather than ordered as a modern imitation. A tin ceiling and period-style tile floor continue the look overhead and underfoot.
Antique pharmaceutical bottles and equipment displayed inside a wooden case connect the restaurant to Pittsboro’s earlier drugstore history. A jukebox and old-fashioned signs loosen things up so the room never feels like a formal museum exhibit.
You can notice the history without needing a guided tour. Order a soda, look around while it is prepared, and give the tiny details some attention.
The building has been serving Pittsboro in one form or another for far longer than the current restaurant’s 1997 opening date.
Bring Someone Who Misses The Soda Fountains They Grew Up With
S & T’s works especially well when different generations share the table. Older visitors may recognize the counter stools, soda combinations, pharmacy details, and familiar rhythm of ordering ice cream at a fountain.
Younger guests get to discover egg creams, flavored sodas, malts, and enormous banana splits without needing any personal nostalgia first. The restaurant’s history explains why that connection feels convincing.
The building housed a pharmacy and soda fountain beginning more than a century ago. When Gene Oldham restored it in the 1990s, the goal was to recreate a shop that could have existed between roughly 1900 and 1940.
The result avoids feeling like a themed chain built yesterday. The room contains restored pieces with histories of their own.
Meanwhile, the menu keeps the experience playful enough for anyone who simply wants ice cream. One person can reminisce over an egg cream.
Someone else can attack a bubble-gum shake. Both somehow make perfect sense at the same table.
Leave With Change In Your Pocket And Dessert Checked Off
The easiest way to keep the visit inexpensive is to embrace the simplest things on the menu. A $4 Cherry Smash still delivers a proper soda-fountain experience.
Fresh lemonade, limeade, or orangeade costs the same. One scoop of ice cream is $4.25, and a fudge brownie lands at $4.50.
Those choices prove that an old-fashioned treat does not need to become a $15 dessert project. Larger appetites have plenty of room to escalate.
Floats and shakes sit just under $7, while sundaes and the banana split move into sharing territory. The current hours also make planning straightforward.
S & T’s serves customers from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at 85 Hillsboro Street in downtown Pittsboro.
Come after lunch for one scoop, or turn the stop into dinner and dessert. Either way, the appeal stays refreshingly simple.
There is ice cream behind the counter, North Carolina history all around you, and at least a few treats that still leave change from a five-dollar bill.
