In the Prattville section of Chelsea, residents knew Frank Ippolito Jr. well. He was the recognizable and courteous proprietor of Ippy’s Amoco Gas Station situated at Washington and Garfield Avenues, where he ran both a service station and car repair operation alongside Ippy’s Plowing, which he established in 1973.
Frank Ippolito III (left), owner of Ippolito Snow Services in East Boston, is shown on the cover of Snow Business Magazine with Travis Dassylva. The Tobin Bridge is in the background.
“My grandfather, Frank Sr. started it, and my dad, Frank Jr., continued it for 50 years,” Frank Ippolito III stated.
The Ippolito family name continues to carry significant standing throughout the city. Joseph Ippolito, Frank III’s uncle, has overseen the impressive restoration of the Sagamore Club, which is experiencing renewed growth in membership. Uncle Jimmy Ippolito earned recognition for his athletic accomplishments, and his daughter Jamie with Jane became Savio Prep’s most accomplished softball player before pursuing an outstanding athletic career at Stonehill College.
Following Frank Ippolito Jr.’s death in 2012, his son Frank III took over the plowing operation, rebranding it as Ippolito Snow Services LLC. The company operates from Chelsea Street in East Boston, providing convenient service to its Boston-area clientele.
The father’s commitment to quality has persisted through the son’s stewardship—and has flourished further.
Following the record snowfall of 2015, when Boston received 108 inches, Ippolito Snow Services earned the National Snow and Ice Management Award. The company has also recently appeared on the cover of Snow Business magazine.
Ippolito manages approximately 50 staff members. He recruits part-time workers from various sectors including auto repair facilities, car washes, and the commercial fishing industry—individuals whose regular employment often ceases during winter weather events.
“We’re a snow only business – we don’t do anything else,” Ippolito explained. “In the offseason, we attend national training conferences and start negotiating snow-plowing contracts in the summer. We really want to focus on what we do well.”
Whether facing minimal accumulation or significant winter weather in the Boston region, Ippolito maintains readiness to deploy his fleet of snow removal equipment. “We have plow trucks, obviously, but we have loaders, Wildcats, and Bobcats. We do a lot of sidewalks in Boston so we recently invested in a lot of sidewalk-clearing equipment.”
Ippolito has emerged as a leading regional authority on snow removal practices and regularly addresses questions from business owners regarding service projections and financial planning during low-snow winters, noting that Boston typically receives 42 inches annually.
“There are two models,” Ippolito noted. “One is that a company pays a certain amount and no matter how much snow we get, that is the amount for a three-year period. Other companies pay by the storm and by the inch.”
The challenging winter of 2015 presented a significant challenge to Ippolito and his team. “There were 78 inches of snow in February,” Ippolito recounted. “It was overwhelming. We brought in a lot of people from out of state to help out. It was non-stop snow removal for weeks. That’s when we knew as a company that there could be a real business here. That winter really put us on the map. But we don’t want to be the biggest, we just want to be the best.”
The company sources its salt from Eastern Minerals on Marginal Street, according to Ippolito. “We’re fortunate to have a great business like that just three minutes away,” he added.
Modern technology enables Ippolito to monitor operations during snowstorms. “We put GPS tracking in all the trucks,” he explained. “We’re able to move resources around quickly if a snowstorm shifts.”
Despite residing in Revere, Frank III maintains strong ties to Chelsea. “I am proud of our family’s connection to Chelsea. I’m proud of the way my grandfather and father worked hard and the great business they ran in Chelsea. This city will always have a special place in my heart..”
Though his home is now in Revere, Frank Ippolito III values his family’s heritage in Chelsea. “I am proud of our ties to Chelsea and I am proud of my father and my grandfather and the great business they ran in Chelsea. This city will also have a special place in my heart.”
Chelsea reciprocates this sentiment, maintaining warm regard for Ippy’s Amoco and the Ippolito family legacy.