Until the 1930s, pastry shops and drugstores with sundaes and ice cream were popular hangouts for teenagers. In the summer months, these stores could be busy well past midnight.
Fred and Reuben "Rube" Elves built their store, originally known as Elves Bros. General Store, in 1910 in the new Vulcan neighborhood next to a Canadian Pacific Railway line. The Elves brothers operated a telephone exchange and post office in their general store and later sold the business. The interior was renovated to resemble "The Geisha" Olivier's bakery and confectionery in Calgary around 1910.