History
The history of our ice cream
can be traced back to the old,
prewar days, when my family lived still
in Buczacz in the Eastern borderlands.
It is where my grandfather, Grzegorz
Grycan, together with my father, Józef,
made and sold their first ice cream.
In 1946, under the repatriation programme,
the family moved to Wrocław.
In this city, which was still recovering
from the damages of the war, Józef and
Weronika Grycan, my parents, settled in
a tenement house at Grunwald Square.
It is where our first ice cream parlour
was opened in the postwar Poland. Its
signboard said "Ice cream Little Bear –
Weronika Grycan".
I can still remember those ice creams
flavours...
cacao, vanilla, coffee, and in the summer:
wild strawberry, garden strawberry,
lemon. We also offered "Penguin ice
cream", probably the first ice cream
sold on a stick in Poland. Every year
from May on street vendors used to sell
them from push carts or wooden boxes
lined with fine wood shavings.
In order to maintain the family tradition,
I started to learn the trade. I completed
an apprenticeship at the Bristol Hotel
in Warsaw, renowned for its confectionary
workshop. It is where I met my
future wife, Elbieta, daughter of my
master. Raised, as I was, in confectioners’
family, she has been my companion
for over 30 years now, supporting me
in all my personal and professional
undertakings.
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine
that we would build together a widelyknown
ice cream brand. That came true
in 1980 when I took over an ice cream
parlour at Puławska Street and the
history of "Zielona Budka" began.
In 2004 a new and most important
period of our lives began. We introduced
"Grycan" – ice cream authored
by us into the market. It is the work of
our lives created by drawing on our
experience and preserved "generationold"
recipes. The ice cream to meet contemporary
needs created by cherishing
tradition passed, in both our families,
from generation to generation.
We hope our ice cream brings you as
much delight and happiness, as it has
to our families over the years.