A Western PA Tradition, Frozen, in Gaithersburg

Can you make it a Super Bowl Sundae?

Brusters black and gold ice cream, on sale from now until the big game this weekend, gives Pittsburg Steelers fans a little something extra to be excited about.

Fans who come wearing black and gold clothing or a Steelers logo will get an extra scoop for free.

Bob Fischer, who owns the Gaithersburg Brusters on Rt. 355, has a special connection to the Steelers.

"My father and I went to the Super Bowl two years ago," when the Steelers played the Arizona Cardinals, he said. Shortly after, Fischer's father passed away at the age of 93. Both staunch Steelers fans, the game stands out in his memory.

"We were both waving the Terrible Towel," he said, referring to a popular fan cheer. "He could still wave it pretty good."

The Brusters franchise consists of more than 240 stores located up and down the east coast from New Hampshire to Florida. The business was founded in 1989 by Bruce Reed in Beaver, PA, about 30 miles from Pittsburgh.

And while the black and gold ice cream (vanilla with yellow food coloring and chocolate chips) is a company-wide idea, it carries a personal connotation for Fischer.

"It has to do as much with my dad as anything," he said. He even called them to gently remind them to do the promotion this year.

So what kind of person eats ice cream in the dead of winter?

"All kinds of people," Fischer said. "The other day the Washington Post had a picture of someone in the middle of the snow, you know, it was coming down everywhere, and there he was with his ice cream."

At any given time Brusters has 31 flavors on hand, and all the ice cream is made fresh, on premises, within a few days of when it lands on a spoon.

Amazingly, there was no Rocky Road flavor until last year, when one of the managers at the Gaithersburg location created a recipe. Chocolate ice cream with extra cocoa, peanuts and marshmallow, it recently won company-wide recognition as the best new flavor.

Promotions like this are nothing new to Brusters. Anyone who shows up on a day when it is raining or snowing gets and extra scoop for free.

In March they are promoting PJ Day, when anyone who shows up in the pajamas gets an extra scoop for free. This will be the second year Gaithersburg is promoting PJ Day.

"It was a zoo last year," Fischer said. "This year we want it to be a big zoo."