You can miss the forest for the trees. In the case of one northwest Alabama landmark, you can be so thoroughly distracted by the famous ice cream that you miss out on a truly classic lunch spot.

Welcome back to Trowbridge’s, a café that’s been an anchor in downtown Florence since 1918. It is now under its fourth generation of family management, and there’s no telling how many generations of patrons have enjoyed its sundaes, shakes and splits, or just a scoop or two of that signature orange pineapple. On any given day, it’s perfectly normal to see grandparents and parents stopping in for a treat with children and grandchildren.

It’s true that Trowbridge’s started with dessert: Texan Paul Trowbridge opened it as a creamery. He later turned it over to his son and daughter-in-law, Don S. and Martha Trowbridge, and when Don S. went off to fight in World War II, Martha diversified.

“My grandmother was running it and she decided that we needed to have sandwiches and hot dogs and stuff,” Pam Trowbridge said. “And then the chili on the hot dogs. She let the customers sample it and tell her what it needed until they said ‘It’s perfect like that,’ so that’s what we did.”

Since late 2002, Pam has managed the restaurant for her father, Don S. Trowbridge, the third-generation owner. So it’s up to her to deal with the occasional ice-cream crisis – such as having to find a new supplier for the hallmark orange pineapple ice cream – and to manage the delicate balance between the charms of yesteryear and the economics of the present.

That balance works out firmly in the customer’s favor. Trowbridge’s has the feel of a classic American diner from the early to mid-20th century. The sandwich-oriented menu too is rooted in a different era.

On one visit I opted for a grilled cheese sandwich, a bowl of chili and a cherry Coke. The sandwich ($2.95) landed almost before I finished placing the order, a simple basic version much like what I’d make at home but much quicker, and served with pickle slices on the side for a twist. The cherry Coke came with some assembly required: A glass of crushed ice with a shot of cherry syrup in it, and a can of Coke to mix with it as one saw fit. The chili ($6.95) was one of the most expensive things on the menu but it was hearty enough to justify that. It can be had with or without beans.

The service is fast and friendly, unless you are fool enough to say you didn’t save room for ice cream, and that might get you a look. So of course I had some: a “two-dip” of the famed orange pineapple paired with the “new” peachy peach. And all of this for a walk-out total under $20.

The Peachy Peach paired well with the Orange Pineapple. In a place like this, you never know if the “new” sign on something means it was added last month, or a couple of decades ago. Pam Trowbridge said the Peachy Peach really is a new offering that has been around only a week or two. But she admitted that the “Chocolate Overdose” brownie dish, also advertised on the menu over the counter as “new,” is something she added when she came on board back in 2020.

Another visit, another lunch: The Club is the joint’s flagship sandwich, clocking in at $7.95. For that you get a slab of turkey rather than thin slices, topped with bacon, lettuce, tomato and honey mustard dressing, all on Texas toast. I ordered a simple Coke and got a cup of ice with a classic eight-ounce bottle. Now that’s a meal that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a time machine.

And there’s more: I didn’t to the Pimento Pooch, a hot dog topped with jalapeno pimiento cheese, or the Pimento Melt, with puts the same cheese in a grilled sandwich with a bit of chili and a slice of tomato. But I did ty the “Trowbridge’s Triple Threat” ($5) a light option that lets you mix and match portions of chicken salad, egg & olive salad, ham salad and pimiento cheese over lettuce.

And yes, I tried the Banana & Mayo sandwich ($2.95). Don’t let the name put you off. What you get is a sliced banana served on toasted bread, and Trowbridge’s toast is some of the best around. This is not bread that’s popped out of a toaster and had some butter slapped on it. This is bread that’s been buttered and browned on griddle, like a grilled cheese without the cheese. So in this case what you get is the sweetness of the banana, balanced by the saltiness of the butter in the bread. The thin smear of mayo hardly factors into it.

When a place has been in business for more than a century, there’s a story behind everything. Pam Trowbridge says the story behind this sandwich involves one of Alabama’s most famous native sons: George Lindsey. Long before Lindsey became famous as Goober Pyle, he was a student at Florence State Teacher’s College, a precursor to the University of North Alabama.

“He came in and he asked my grandmother if she could make a banana sandwich,” she said. “He said, ‘I don’t see a banana sandwich on the menu,’ and she said, ‘We don’t have banana sandwiches,’ and he said, ‘Well, you have bread?’ She said yeah. ‘You got mayonnaise?’ And she said yeah. He said, ‘You got bananas?’ So she said, ‘Okay,’ and that’s how that started, it got put on the menu.”

It’s still on there, and it’s only mildly surprising that there isn’t a note identifying it as “new.”

As if all that isn’t enough, there also are some regular specials. Thursdays, from fall into spring, you can get chicken and dumplings for $5.25. Wednesday is “Bean Day:” A bowl of white beans with purple onion and homemade cornbread will set you back a whopping $3.95.

So, yeah, Trowbridge’s is about the ice cream. But it’s not all about the ice cream.

“I just think that our food is really good and it’s made with love every day,” Trowbridge said. “We just love our customers. I’m running it for my dad, he still owns it, but to me, it’s not about the money, it’s about the community, serving the community. And therefore we try and keep our prices really low so everybody can enjoy it. … It’s hard not to do it in this day and age.”

You might think “change” is a dirty word here, but she has made a few. Discreet notes on the menu identify various items as gluten-free, and an up-front note advises that while the restaurant doesn’t have a dedicated gluten-free kitchen, it does what it can to accommodate gluten-averse and vegan patrons.

“Also something that just crushed my heart when I would see it happen was, parents would be here with their kids and one of their kids was lactose intolerant and they couldn’t have dairy,” she said. “And even our sherbet has some dairy in it, so they couldn’t have anything, so I started carrying the dairy-free fruit pops. And we just started making pickle popsicles, dill chills and dill chill infernos, which is a jalapeno-infused pickle pop, and it’s savory with other spices and stuff and it’s really good. So we’re kind of broadening our horizons to accommodate different people.”

“If I had a nickel for every time somebody said, ‘I remember when I was a kid, my grandmother brought me down here and we sat on those stools,’ you know,” Trowbridge said. “And that’s what I really enjoy so much about this place, is that everybody is so happy when they come. Our customers bring great energy to the place. I love waiting tables and talking to the customers and stuff.”

Trowbridge’s is at 316 N. Court St. in downtown Florence. For hours and updates, visit the venue’s Facebook page.