Salem Willows Food: Popcorn, Ice Cream and Chop Suey

Salem Willows food is a small, odd and very local tradition: the Willows is a seaside park on a point at the edge of Salem, with an arcade, a pier, shade trees and a row of stands. The best known snack is a chop suey sandwich, a soft roll filled with warm chop suey mixture in gravy. The park is mostly seasonal, so check its pages before you drive.

This guide explains what each classic is, how the stands work in a park that opens and closes with the seasons and what to do if the one you came for is shut. It does not promise any particular stand is open.

What is Salem Willows food known for?

Three things: popcorn, ice cream and a sandwich. The popcorn and ice cream go back to the 1880s, when two men started selling popcorn to the crowds who came to the Willows by trolley. The sandwich comes from the Chinese-American restaurants that grew up around the park and is a North Shore habit more than a tourist show.

Beyond those, the stands sell pizza, fried seafood, hot dogs, salt water taffy and other beach-town fare. You can build a lunch from the three classics, with the sandwich as the main, popcorn as the side and ice cream to finish.

What is the Salem Willows chop suey sandwich?

The Salem Willows chop suey sandwich is a warm, soft roll filled with a chop suey mixture in gravy. It is eaten with your hands, it is messy, and fans swear by it. A New England historical society has written about it as a sign of summer returning, and a regional snack company's blog calls it a classic North Shore treat.

Salem Lowe, a historic restaurant at the park, is the name most closely tied to the sandwich. Because sellers come and go, ask at the park which stand is serving it this season.

Who sells the Salem Willows popcorn?

Salem Willows popcorn comes from Hobbs, a popcorn and ice cream stand with roots in the mid 1880s, when two partners sold popcorn at the park, and a building bought in 1897. Hobbs has been described as a seasonal business known for its homemade ice cream. The popcorn is the old-fashioned kind: fresh, lightly salted or buttered and sold in a bag you can eat while you walk.

Ask for it fresh from the machine. Stale popcorn is the main way a stand disappoints, and a stand that makes it in front of you has nothing to hide.

What about Salem Willows ice cream?

Salem Willows ice cream is the sweet end of the same Hobbs tradition: homemade flavors in cones and cups, scooped in a small stand with a window and a line. Choose a flavor by asking what is freshest, and go for a cup if the wind is up. Sea breezes melt a cone faster than you can eat it.

A second sweet is salt water taffy, sold by the box or the piece. It is a gift as much as a snack, and it travels well in a bag. The clam shack and roast beef guide covers the savory side of the North Shore coast.

Where else can you find Salem waterfront snacks?

Salem waterfront snacks do not stop at the Willows. The harbor side of town has ice cream windows, take-out counters and cafés that cater to walkers, and the town's other waterfront is covered in the Pickering Wharf guide. The two areas feel different: the Willows is a park with a carnival atmosphere, the wharf is a working harbor with a historic district behind it.

Walk between them only if you have a car or a good pair of shoes. The park is some distance from the downtown core.

How do you plan a visit to the Willows?

Aim for a weekday or a morning in the shoulder seasons. On a hot weekend the park is full and the stands run out of things. Bring a blanket or a folding chair and eat on the grass or at a bench facing the water. Bring cash if you can, since small stands sometimes prefer it, and wipe your hands before the arcade.

What should you bring to the Willows?

Bring a light jacket, because the point catches the wind even in July. Pack wipes for sticky hands and a bag for taffy, since small stands do not always have bags. If you are bringing children, bring coins or small bills for the arcade, which is a separate pleasure from the food.

A folding chair or a blanket turns a snack into a picnic. The park has benches, but they fill on warm Sundays. Leave time for a walk to the end of the pier, where the view back toward the town is the best free thing in Salem.

Can a snack stand be rated like a restaurant?

Yes. A popcorn stand, an ice cream window and a sandwich counter are places like any other, and the rating form needs only the place and the stars. Name the dish, such as the chop suey sandwich, and say how it eats on a windy point. Tag a stand Dessert or Snacks, two meal tags with badges, or Sea View if the bench had one. Five different dessert places make a Sampler, so a summer of seaside cones adds up.

How do you remember what you liked?

Eating your way across Massachusetts? The Food in Massachusetts page links every town we cover.

Learning which line was worth standing in is easier with friends: follow a few, and a This week with friends row on Home shows what they rated and saved. Rate the stand you liked best when you get home and save it to a Salem list. The family friendly guide pairs well with a day at the park, and the US guides hub has more. Download the Mosey app.