There are a few places around Keuka Lake that quietly mark the turning of the seasons better than any calendar ever could. For me, one of those places is Seneca Farms.
And last Thursday, it officially opened for the season.
So naturally… I went to lunch on Friday.
The parking lot was already doing that familiar dance — cars looping around the building, people stepping out with coats half-buttoned in that hopeful early-March way, and the unmistakable feeling that winter is finally loosening its grip on Keuka Lake.
I stepped inside already dreaming about fried chicken and corn fritters — some traditions simply shouldn’t be messed with.
But just as we walked in, I remembered something important.
It was Friday.
Which meant fish fry for me.
While my friend stayed loyal to Seneca Farms’ famous fried chicken, I happily ordered the Friday fish fry with their hand-cut potato wedges, creamy coleslaw, and of course — my absolute favorite — corn fritters.
And yes… I ordered an extra order of corn fritters.
But before the chicken (or Fish Fry on any given Friday) hits the table or the ice cream cone reaches your hand, Seneca Farms carries a story that stretches back more than seventy years.
Where It All Began
Seneca Farms first opened in 1950 as a creamery. Back then the focus was simple: homemade ice cream and bottled milk.
Milk trucks delivered bottles straight to homes throughout the area, while locals could stop in at the shop itself. In those early days, Seneca Farms was part ice cream stand, part neighborhood dairy.
It also carried a little piece of innovation for the region.
The business opened with what is believed to be the first drive-thru in the Finger Lakes. To this day, the original 1950 building still stands, and the drive-thru still sits in the very same spot — a small piece of living history that thousands of cars roll through every summer.
A Few Turns in the Story
Sometime in the 1960s, the business was purchased by John Nicolo. He began serving Perry’s Ice Cream and tried expanding with a kitchen. The kitchen didn’t quite take off the way he had hoped, and before long Seneca Farms returned to its roots as simply an ice cream shop.
But the next chapter would change everything.
Fried Chicken Enters the Story
In 1976, Joseph Trombley returned to the area and purchased Seneca Farms from Nicolo. After taking a short course at Penn State University, Joe brought something special back with him — the art of making homemade ice cream once again.
But he also had another idea.
Joe reopened the kitchen, focusing on something simple and comforting: fried chicken.
The response was immediate.
The chicken became a local legend almost overnight, and Joe began expanding the menu — but always with the same philosophy: handmade food made right.
Many of the recipes still used today come from Joe’s family, including his mother Shirley and his former mother-in-law Velma, known to everyone as “Boots.”
Though now retired, Joe still owns Seneca Farms, and the traditions continue through the next generation. His daughter Nitosha and longtime employee and friend Christian Avellaneda carry on the craft of making the ice cream.
The Secret to the Chicken
Today Seneca Farms is known far beyond the Keuka Lake region for two things:
Ice cream and fried chicken.
The chicken arrives fresh, is hand-breaded every day, and fried with a secret batter and breading that has built a reputation strong enough to earn national attention. At one point, Seneca Farms’ fried chicken was ranked 11th in the entire country.
And if you’ve ever eaten there, you know another essential companion:
Corn fritters.
Golden, warm, and impossible to eat just one.
Everything from cold salads to burgers is still made the old-fashioned way — hand-stirred, hand-pattied, and prepared on site, with ingredients sourced locally whenever possible.
Ice Cream — Still the Heart of the Place
Of course, the ice cream never left center stage.
Seneca Farms makes more than 50 flavors of homemade ice cream, along with ice cream sandwiches, tacos, and custom cakes. The cakes are decorated right in the shop, and flavors can be customized if you give them a little notice.
Recently, they’ve even added vegan ice cream options, making sure everyone who stops by can leave with a cone in hand.
But the part I love most is that the ice cream is still made the way it always was — every ingredient hand-stirred in.
A Fire — and a Rebuild
In 2005, tragedy struck when a fire destroyed the kitchen portion of the building.
But the original 1950 ice cream building survived.
From there, Seneca Farms rebuilt — bigger and stronger. The new kitchen and dining space expanded, and outdoor seating grew with a pavilion and picnic tables that fill up quickly on summer evenings.
If you’ve ever driven by in July, you know the scene:
people lining the sidewalks, cars circling the building, kids holding melting cones and parents pretending they don’t want one too.
A Name With Local Roots
Another question people often ask is where the name Seneca Farms comes from.
The business sits near Indian Pines Park, an area historically connected to the Seneca Nation, one of the original peoples of this land. The name honors that connection to place — a reminder that the ground we walk on has many layers of history.
Friday’s Lunch
By the time my fish fry arrived Friday, the dining room was buzzing.
Some tables were clearly first-of-the-season regulars. Others were families introducing kids to the place for the first time. Orders were flying, cones were stacking up, and the kitchen was doing its well-practiced dance.
And when those corn fritters hit the table?
All was right in the world again.
A Keuka Roots Note
Places like Seneca Farms are more than restaurants.
They are markers of time.
You remember being there as a child.
You bring your kids.
Someday they bring theirs.
The building may grow, the menu may expand, but the feeling stays the same.
And every year when those doors open again in early March, it feels a little like Keuka Lake itself is waking up.
So if you see cars wrapping around a building and people walking out with ice cream cones on a chilly spring afternoon…
You’ll know exactly where you are.
And if you see someone sitting there with fried chicken and an extra order of corn fritters on a weekday afternoon…
Well, that might just be me.
Stay Rooted. Stay Keuka. ๐ฟ๐ฆ๐
