Page 24 - OCL October 2017 Old City Life Magazine

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Whetstone’s marked their 50th year in business in the city. The first chocolate was sold at the Benet Store on North St. George Street, part of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation complex.
It’s possible the family business wouldn’t have the history it now enjoys if not, in 1966, Henry hadn’t discovered he had some extra time on his hands. His adventures into the business world began when his father, Joseph, asked Henry to leave his job at the Army Corps of Engineers in Jacksonville and help with the family motel (then known as the
Casa Marina and later as Whetstone Motor Inn). Today the Bayfront Inn stands on the property, and is one of three facilities which offer a sweet night’s sleep in the lap of luxury.
BRANCHING OUT
When Henry left the Army Corps of Engineers his duties at the inn included maintenance, erecting billboards and building furniture for the rooms. Esther was teaching at Orange Street School.
That just wasn’t enough for Henry’s
creative nature. Hearing that one of the drugstores on King Street was making about $250 a month selling ice cream, Henry and Esther launched their own ice cream parlor that same year on Aviles Street. Today it’s known as Tedi’s Ice Cream.
The family empire eventually grew to seven locations in downtown St. Augustine, including a sandwich shop and a chocolate factory on Cordova Street. “There was no chocolate shop in St. Augustine back in 1967,” Henry recounts. He knew a lady from
St. Augustine who could dip chocolate. “She
ONE OF THE ORIGINAL WHETSTONE STORES ON ST. GEORGE STREET
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: HENRY, ESTER AND VIRGINIA WHETSTONE
24 GUEST ADVANTAGE 2017