Cincinnati, Ohio · Founded 1908 · Building: 1913
A family-run Cincinnati ice-cream and candy business rooted in 1908, with its historic Oakley parlor open since 1913.
Greek immigrant brothers Thomas and Nicholas Aglamesis opened The Metropolitan ice cream parlor in Norwood in 1908. In 1913, they built and opened the Oakley parlor at 3046 Madison Road, which remains the company's defining historic location. The Aglamesis family continues to run the ice-cream and chocolate business using its long-standing confectionery traditions.
Greek immigrant brothers Thomas and Nicholas Aglamesis open The Metropolitan, their first ice cream parlor, in Norwood.
Source: Aglamesis Brothers official history; Cincinnati Enquirer, "Jim Aglamesis, longtime owner of Cincinnati's Aglamesis Bros., dies"
The brothers open the Oakley ice cream parlor at 3046 Madison Road, in a building they constructed in Oakley Square.
Source: Aglamesis Brothers official history; Cincinnati Business Courier, "James Aglamesis, owner of iconic Oakley ice cream shop, dies"
The company adds an ice cream plant with refrigerated cooling machinery at the Oakley location.
Source: Aglamesis Brothers official history
James T. Aglamesis, Thomas Aglamesis's son, takes over business operations after Thomas suffers a stroke.
Source: Aglamesis Brothers official history; Cincinnati Enquirer, "Jim Aglamesis, longtime owner of Cincinnati's Aglamesis Bros., dies"
Longtime owner James T. Aglamesis dies after shifting oversight of the business to other family members.
Source: Cincinnati Enquirer, "Jim Aglamesis, longtime owner of Cincinnati's Aglamesis Bros., dies"
Aglamesis Bro's opens a third Ohio store in Hamilton, its first new location in 54 years.
Source: Cincinnati Business Courier, "Aglamesis Bros. to open new Hamilton ice cream parlor Oct. 10"
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Accounts describe the Oakley shop as retaining its hand-laid tile floor, tin ceiling, marble-topped tables, candy counter, soda fountain, and traditional wire-back chairs. The company says its Tiffany lamps were acquired in the 1920s, so the interior should not be described as a fully unchanged 1913 installation.
The company identifies Thomas and Nicholas Aglamesis as its founders and says Randy and Kristi now run the business as third- and fourth-generation family leadership. Cincinnati reporting confirms that longtime owner James T. Aglamesis transferred oversight to other family members before his death in 2021.
The Aglamesis business began with The Metropolitan in Norwood in 1908. The current Oakley parlor at 3046 Madison Road opened in 1913.
James and Thomas Aglamesis founded Aglamesis Bro's in Oakley in 1908.
Thomas and Nicholas Aglamesis founded their first parlor, The Metropolitan, in Norwood in 1908. Their Oakley parlor at 3046 Madison Road opened in 1913.
Source: Aglamesis Brothers official history; Cincinnati Enquirer, "Jim Aglamesis, longtime owner of Cincinnati's Aglamesis Bros., dies"
All of the Oakley parlor's signature fixtures date to its 1913 opening.
The Oakley parlor retains substantial historic features, but the company dates its Tiffany lamps to the 1920s. The interior should be described as historically preserved, not as a fully unchanged 1913 installation.
Source: Aglamesis Brothers official history
Aglamesis Bro's has endured by preserving a family-run confectionery model while allowing the Oakley shop's historic atmosphere to remain central to the customer experience. The business has expanded beyond its early storefronts, but descendants of the founders still run it and describe using traditional recipes and methods developed by Thomas and Nicholas Aglamesis.
Aglamesis Bro's began in 1908 when Greek immigrant brothers Thomas and Nicholas Aglamesis opened The Metropolitan ice cream parlor in Norwood, Ohio. They opened the present Oakley parlor at 3046 Madison Road in 1913, and the Aglamesis family still runs the ice-cream and chocolate business today.
Aglamesis Bro's has a business lineage dating to 1908 and an Oakley parlor dating to 1913, but this review did not establish it as Ohio's oldest ice cream parlor. Its strongest verified distinction is long-term Aglamesis family stewardship and the survival of the historic Oakley shop.
Aglamesis Bro's remains family-run by descendants of founders Thomas and Nicholas Aglamesis. The company identifies Randy and Kristi as current third- and fourth-generation leaders, while reporting confirms the prior long tenure of James T. Aglamesis.
3046 Madison Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45209
(513) 531-5196
The Oakley parlor currently posts daily service hours; check the official locations page for seasonal, holiday, and event changes.