Photos: Eric's Ice Cream and 1702 near UA campus through the years
Eric Lepie began concocting ice cream flavors at his first shop at 4603 E. Broadway in 1976. By 1979, he opened at 1702 E. Speedway, where Eric's Fine Foods and Ice Cream became a staple for University of Arizona students and teachers. By 1987, Eric boasted nearly 500 ice cream flavors and 30 wholesale client restaurants around Tucson.
In 2008, the restaurant was rebranded as "1702" and the menu flipped to the pizza side of things. A bar was added, including 70 brands of bottled beer and 28 brews on tap.
Eric hails from Boston. He studied psychology at the University of Arizona, tried to crack into films in LA, then returned to Tucson to delve into ice cream.
One Tucson Citizen story caught this interaction between Eric and customers: "Hi, how are you? Haven't seen you in a while. Oh, you've never been in here before? Well, you'll really like this. Yes, it's good. Me? No, I never eat ice cream. Yes, the hot fudge is very low in calories. We take out all the calories before we start."
Eric would let staffers from the UA's Mars Pathfinder mission stay at the restaurant late into the night, working on their historic project. They honored him by including his signature and an Eric's Ice Cream coupon inside instrument aboard the Mars lander, which touched down on the planet in 1997.
His current restaurant, 1702, closes on Friday, May 27.
Eric Lepie, Eric's Ice Cream, 1702
Eric Lepie creates a generous double cone at Eric's Ice Cream at 4603 E. Broadway, Tucson, in 1976
Eric Lepie, Eric's Ice Cream, 1702
Eric Lepie strikes a dramatic pose with Rum Raisin ice cream for a story about his usual flavors at 4603 E. Broadway, Tucson in 1978. Back then, it was anything beyond vanilla and chocolate.
Eric Lepie, Eric's Ice Cream, 1702
Eric Lepie was always game for any crazy pose for stories about his ice cream. In this photo, in 1979, at his shop at 1702 E. Speedway Blvd., he shows off the variety of foods that go into his ice cream flavors.
Eric Lepie, Eric's Ice Cream, 1702
Eric Lepie in 1987 with a sugar cone in one ear and his popular Gentle Persuasion ice cream (oatmeal and prunes) in one hand. "Why not?" Lepie said. "You put raisins in oatmeal. What's a prune? It's a big raisin." The ice cream was featured on "Late Night with David Letterman" and "The Tonight Show."
Eric Lepie, Eric's Ice Cream, 1702
Eric Lepie cradles a cup of coffee while looking out the window of store onto Speedway Blvd. in 1989. Lepie, who had a 12-year lease, was facing the loss of his shop due to a city street widening project.
Eric Lepie, Eric's Ice Cream, 1702
Eric Lepie in 1989 with the blueprints of a plan to save 11 of the 17 stores in the strip mall and his shop, Eric's Ice Cream, 1702 E. Speedway. The City of Tucson bought most of the shops and intended to demolish them as part of the Speedway widening project. But Lepie and others asked the city to demolish six shops to construct a parking lot to make up for the lost storefront parking.
Eric Lepie, Eric's Ice Cream, 1702
Eric Lepie digs through the walk-in freezer for supplies at Eric's Ice Cream, 1702 E. Speedway, in 1992. Lepie boasted 500 flavors, not all available at the same time.
Eric Lepie, Eric's Ice Cream, 1702
Oreo cookies in an ice cream mixture at Eric's Ice Cream, 1702 E. Speedway, in 1992.
Eric Lepie, Eric's Ice Cream, 1702
Armed with ginger snaps, Oreos, oats and spices, Eric Lepie produces an ice cream concoction at Eric's Ice Cream, 1702 E. Speedway, in 1992.
Eric Lepie
Eric Lepie, shown in 2003, has been making ice cream in Tucson since 1976.
Eric Lepie
Eric Lepie in front of a wall of signatures in the back room of his restaurant in 2006. Astronauts, a U.S. Senator, doctors, astro-physicists and ordinary Joes have signed the walls in the back room at his original shop, Eric's Ice Cream & Fine Food.
1702 pizza closing
Eric Lepie, owner of 1702 Pizza and Craft Beer near the UA campus in Tucson. Lepie is closing after 15 years in business.
Rick Wiley
Photo editor
Rick Wiley is the photo editor of the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson. From 1995-2004, he was director of photography at the East Valley Tribune in Mesa. From 1988-94 he was a photographer at the Tucson Citizen. He is a graduate of ASU (yes, that ASU).
The owner of the pizzeria, who has been in the Tucson restaurant business for 45 years, said they never recovered financially from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This Tucson pizza joint and nanobrewery is closing after 15 yearsFor Star subscribers: The owner of the pizzeria, who has been in the Tucson restaurant biz for 45 years, said they never recovered financially from the pandemic.