Street Vendor News & Stories

Crazy Maisy's Ice Cream Truck rolls through Cumberland County
May 17, 2013
The white ice cream truck - really, a converted small school bus outfitted with three freezers - has been navigating the streets of the West Shore for about two years now. (source: PennLive)

Ice cream trucks that even adults would chase
May 3, 2013
It’s getting warm again and that only means one thing, the sweet, sweet sound of an ice cream truck. Yes, you may be way too old to chase them, but there’s no reason to forego the season of four-wheeling frozen treats. Luckily, the folks at Buzzfeed have pulled together a list of best adult-friendly ice cream trucks. Here are some of our favorites: (source: FOXNews.com)

The Karaoke Ice Cream Truck
April 8, 2013
Treatbot, the karaoke ice cream truck, is a silver bullet on wheels that churns out gorgeous ice cream and hot music as it plies the streets of San Jose. The flavors they make from scratch reflect the founder’s Filipino heritage and the cultural diversity of the neighborhoods in and around San Jose. So, grab a cone and a microphone and listen up: (source: KQED)

Now Rolling: Sweet Lucie's Vintage Ice Cream Truck
March 28, 2013
Every food truck is basically a refurbished old roach coach, but we like those who think outside the box for their four-wheel kitchens. The Coolhaus gals transformed an old mail truck for their architecturally themed ice cream sandwiches (it’s now permanently parked at Space 15 Twenty near Urban Outfitters in Hollywood), and now there’s Sweet Lucie’s vintage 1959 ice cream truck serving, what else, organic, seasonal ice creams. (source: Zagat)

Couple taking ice-cream dreams to the next level
March 27, 2013
Sahuarita couple Kristel and Dominic Johnson say there’s nothing a scoop of ice cream can’t fix. And they’re betting a lot of hard work and money on it. What began as a post-athletic career for Dominic — a three-time Olympian for St. Lucia and a three-time NCAA All-American who still holds pole vault records at the University of Arizona — is taking off in directions the couple never foresaw. (source: Green Valley News and Sun)

Kona Ice truck raises money for schools, organizations
December 5, 2012
The coolest ice cream truck ever just pulled into the parking lot. It touts a semi-tropical wrap: a palm tree-lined tiki hut, parrots and Kona, the happy-go-lucky penguin mascot. Lively calypso music flows out of the Bose sound system. (source: Bradenton Herald)

The Ice Cream Truck That Started it All
November 9, 2012
Butch Yamali bought a single ice cream truck and operated it under the name Carnival Ice Cream. His business expanded to become the largest distributor of Good Humor products in Nassau County, Long Island. Yamali then sought new business opportunities, including vending machines, concession stands, catering and college campus food courts. (source: FOXBusiness)

Local Legend: Ice-cream truck vendor a TIFF staple
September 14, 2012
Ake Alexopoulos has been doling out soft serve to hot, sugar-starved TIFF-goers for the five years he’s been in business. His Bow Tie Ice Cream Truck is usually parked on King St. near Roy Thomson Hall and David Pecaut Square between noon and 2 p.m. and in the evenings, where the major stars walk the red carpet for the Festival’s gala presentations. (source: thestar.com)

The ice cream truck still cometh
September 13, 2012
Babyboomers and members of older generations heard the tinkling of circus music followed by the appearance of a large, boxy, white truck with huge sliding windows and a man in a white suit. (source: The Eatonton Messenger)

Gramp’s ice cream train
September 8, 2012
Gary Scoville has been selling ice cream to the residents of Hillsdale County since 1986. (Shannon Odell/Collegian) Gary Scoville, owner of Gramp’s Ice Cream Company in Hillsdale, Mich., is a magi- cal cliché in an age that has forgotten the allure of melting summer evenings. He is the ice cream man. Five days a week, he drives his ice cream truck around Hill- sdale County delivering sweet treats to smiling faces. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday he drives a smaller vehicle deco- rated in the f (source: The Hillsdale Collegian)

Kids learn life lessons through summer jobs
August 20, 2012
What did you do for a summer job? Aaron Trauner, 9, and his brother Ben, 14, work on their parents’ ice-cream trucks, experiencing the new gourmet-food-truck scene that has hit Charlotte (source: charlotteobserver.com)

Video: Life as the ‘Ice Cream Lady'
August 17, 2012
The sound of the ice cream truck singing as it drives through the streets, calling out kids to come for ice cream, is one of the quintessential sounds of summertime. However, local ice cream truck driver Carrie Foster is not your typical ice cream truck driver. (source: Vail Daily)

The last tricycle-riding ice cream man still jingles the bells selling popsicles and other treats
August 17, 2012
He is a throwback to a long-ago time. Darryl Banks has stepped back in time by tricycling an ice box of popsicles, ice cream sandwiches and other cold treats through his neighborhood. Don't call him Darryl. Call him "Shakey, the ice cream man." (source: newsnet5.com)

Ice Cream Truck Owner Beats Rising Gas Prices, Product Shortage for Record Summer
August 13, 2012
When Good Humor announced a shortage of its popular Toasted Almond products earlier this summer, ice cream truck drivers expressed concern and frustration. But Butch Yamali says he decided to stand by his brand. Yamali, who has owned his Carnival Ice Cream business in Plainview, N.Y. for nearly two decades, said he decided to continue selling Good Humor despite the shortage. And thanks to one of the hottest summers on record, it paid off (source: FOXBusiness)

Maggie's Icebox: Ice Cream From a 1940s Scooter
July 26, 2012
Maggie's Lunchbox, in Fenton, is known for freshly baked breads, pastries, desserts and made-from-scratch soups. Now, for something completely different. (source: Fenton-HighRidgePatch)

Cool business: Owning an ice cream truck company
July 25, 2012
As the weather heats up in summer, there is nothing you want more than a cool treat. And before you know it, your prayers are answered when an ice cream truck appears out of nowhere with its bells ringing. (source: stamfordadvocate.com)

Ice cream truck near Public Garden dishes up cold comfort on sweltering day
July 17, 2012
Beating the heat can be difficult when sweltering heat and humidity team up to push temperatures to the mid-90s as they did in Boston Tuesday. But sometimes it’s as easy as ordering a cold treat. (source: Boston.com)

Elvis Lives in Marlboro; He Is Serving Soft Serve Ice Cream
June 26, 2012
Lee Elvis has been emulating Elvis Presley since he was 3 years old, many years before Presley died, rocking out to the music of The King and getting paid for it. (source: Marlboro-ColtsNeckPatch)

Ice cream proprietors out and about in trucks and stands
June 25, 2012
Ring, ring, ring clanged the four medium-sized copper bells that hung on the small white peddler’s cart in front of St. Anne’s Church. The sound immediately drew kids to the cart; the ice cream man had come. (source: recorderonline.com)

What’s That Business? Kona Ice
June 25, 2012
In the tradition of the old-fashioned ice cream trucks, the Kona Ice truck started making its rounds in the Duluth area last year. (source: Duluth News Tribune)

College student turns ice cream entrepreneur
June 21, 2012
As a hockey player, Breanna Simon can often be found in the cold confines of ice arenas practicing her favorite sport. Now she’s created her own part-time job that keeps her in the cold. (source: New Richmond News)

Cool Down With Sammy, The Mister Softee Ice Cream Truck Driver of Park Slope
June 21, 2012
Mister Softee has a special place in the hearts of Americans. The jingle— “The cream-ies-t dream-i-est soft ice cream you get from Mis-ter Sof-tee”— is so ingrained in our brains, and reward system, that it works like Ivan Pavlov’s bell. The jingle sounds and the saliva glands of men, women and children get to work. (source: ParkSlopePatch)

Ice cream truck brings old-fashioned sweetness to Le Mars
June 12, 2012
A tinkling tune plays on the summer breeze. And then you see it -- an orange and green truck painted with bright bubbles and cones rounds the corner. The ice cream truck is here. (source: Le Mars Daily Sentinel)

Fergus Falls family turns ice cream dream into reality
June 8, 2012
Fergus Falls, MN (WDAY TV) - Think back to the music of an ice cream truck. For many of us it brings back fond childhood memories of rushing to the street to pick up sweets. For a Fergus Falls family, this sound may remind them of work. The Prestons just couldn't help themselves - they had to purchase the ice cream truck for sale just down the street. (source: WDAY.com)

TEMECULA: A life dispensing sweetness
June 8, 2012
Fame is usually associated with politics, entertainment, sports — stuff people care about passionately. But ice cream? Yes, Joseph John Tamborelli Sr., known far and wide as “Papa Joe the Ice Cream Man,” had several newspaper stories written about him and was always recognized by adoring fans wherever he went in southwest Riverside County. Papa Joe passed away May 31 after a series of health issues. He was 82. (source: PE.com)

Open and Shut: The Pupu Shack brings shave ice treats to Tualatin streets
June 6, 2012
TUALATIN -- The Hall family is bringing a taste of Hawaii to Tualatin in the form of a family business and a colorful food truck. Carole Hall, 45, and her husband Joseph opened The Pupu Shack food truck in May to sell shave ice and other treats. Their only employees are the 10 children -- ages 8 to 22 -- they raise, including nine biological kids. Their inspiration for the venture is a beloved vacation spot in Hawaii. (source: OregonLive.com)

Old Ice Cream Truck Sells for Nearly $38,000
June 6, 2012
Last weekend’s Auburn Spring sale by Auctions America included many fast, high-powered sports and muscle cars. Some attracted impressive bids. (source: The Wall Street Journal)

Family buys ice cream truck
May 30, 2012
The Preston family is not running a typical business. When the family decided to run an ice cream truck in Fergus Falls, their goals were three-fold: operate a successful business, serve the community, and spend time together as a family. (source: Fergus Falls Journal)

New business offers ice cream on the lake for boaters
May 27, 2012
If boaters are looking for a tasty treat on the water, they now have a new business that will bring ice cream to them. The company is called IceCream Floats, LLC. The company is using its boat on Fort Loudoun Lake and the Tennessee River, serving novelty ice cream to other boaters. (source: WBIR.COM)

Ice Cream man serves community for smiles
May 27, 2012
It's a job that's full of sweat and smiles but David Valdez is ready to help people cool off. He said, "Hopefully it will cool down a little bit but yeah I'm looking forward to a long long summer." One week David is an EMS pilot and the next he's driving at a snail's pace delivering frozen treats. (source: FOX23.COM)

Not Cool: I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream 'Where the Heck's Our Ice Cream?
May 25, 2012
MADISON, Conn.—With summer in the air, Paul Padelli, a 46-year-old locomotive engineer, bounded to the Good Humor truck that stopped Thursday evening on his leafy street in this seaside town. His smile quickly melted. (source: The Wall Street Journal)

TCBY Riding With the First Ever Froyo Food Truck
May 18, 2012
The Country’s Best Yogurt has revolutionized the food truck game by being the first to sell frozen yogurt out of one. We’ve come a long way in this country from the old school soft-serve ice cream truck days, to frozen yogurt being sold out of trucks. It only took 75 years to replace the ice cream with frozen yogurt. (source: foodbeast.com)

Sweet licks of summer in Suzhou
April 22, 2012
When summer weather comes around, an unexpected sight can be seen on the streets of Suzhou, Jiangsu province: an ice cream truck driving down the streets. Turner Sparks, a 29-year-old American and the CEO of Mister Softee China, operates the company's ice cream trucks a few times a month, and he loves to see the reactions of his customers. (source: China Daily)

Osterville man’s good humor is a memory-maker
April 20, 2012
You have to admit there was nothing more magical than hearing the sound of an approaching ice cream truck when you were a kid. Imagine, frozen ice cream novelties being delivered to your neighborhood. Osterville’s Ken Mattozzi has created a novelty side business of his own that stirs up those magical feelings with everybody who sees his unique ice cream truck. (source: The Barnstable Patriot)

Scoop: Ice cream trucks' early start sweet
April 17, 2012
Since the early 1920s, the magic of those ringing bells on the neighborhood ice cream truck has acted like a Pied Piper in suburbia, drawing both children and adults from blocks away for a bite into a frigid treat on a steamy afternoon. (source: Newsday)

Cruisin' Street Treats is ready to roll
April 5, 2012
The sweet sound of nostalgia will soon be heard on the streets of Perkins as a local couple brings a traditional ice cream truck to town. (source: The Perkins Journal)

Former ad exec finds his niche with Mister Softee ice cream trucks in DFW
March 31, 2012
As a kid, when the sweet jingle in the distance was getting louder by the second, you just knew good times were on the way. My heart raced. I worried that the truck would pass me by before I could rustle up enough money to buy a Fudgsicle, Dreamsicle, Nestlé Crunch Bar or Bomb Pop. Some things never change. (source: http://www.dallasnews.com)

Woof: Doggie ice cream truck debuts in Maryland
March 20, 2012
We all scream for ice cream. And soon some of us might be barking for it, too. Maryland's first ice cream truck for dogs is ready to roll to events and parks. It's the dream come true for the owner of a Glen Elg dog day care ever who's wanted to do it ever since reading about one opening in the U.K. (source: The Baltimore Sun)

Ice cream van chimes to ring out until 8pm as children stay up later
March 8, 2012
Ice cream vans could be allowed to sound their chimes for longer into the evening, on the grounds that children stay up later nowadays. (source: The Telegraph)

Whipping up a frenzy by playing it cool
March 8, 2012
We're in stealth mode. Which I never thought I'd say of sitting in a Mr Whippy truck. The best we can do is cut the looping Greensleeves jingle and hope we look like an eccentric campervan. With any luck he won't see us until it's too late ... (source: nzherald.co.nz)

Local Business Spotlight: Kona Ice
February 24, 2012
Welcome back to our business spotlight feature, where this week we spoke with Holly Daigle, who runs Holly's Kona Ice. Her mobile unit is similar to an ice cream truck, but instead offers shaved ice in various flavors. While from Pelham, Daigle services many of the communities in the area including Windham. (source: WindhamPatch)

Ice Cream Truck 1, Jane Mealy 0: Mobile Vendor Restrictions Fail in Flagler Beach
February 9, 2012
Don’t worry, Flagler Beach: you’ll still be able to buy ice cream from a roving ice cream truck, at least for the foreseeable future. In a stinging defeat for Jane Mealy on her first day as chairman of the Flagler Beach City Commission, the panel voted to table a proposed ordinance that would have severely limited the right of mobile businesses, including ice cream trucks, to ply their wafers around town. A full commission chamber applauded, but also grumbled at the possibility that the issue ma (source: FlaglerLive.com)

Ice-cream food truck begun by Scottsdale artisan shop aims to foster community
February 3, 2012
Eight years later, she was working at her artisan ice-cream shop Sweet Republic in Scottsdale when her co-founder, Jan Wichayanuparp, began serving the sweet creations at Phoenix’s Food Truck Fridays from an orange converted 1959 Chevy truck. (source: DowntownDevil)

TheGrio's 100: Felecia Hatcher, Co-founder of gourmet ice cream truck line
January 31, 2012
Apple Martini. Apple Pie. Almond Butter. These three things did not have a lot in common until 28-year-old Felecia Hatcher came along and made them into ice cream and popsicle flavors. Hatcher, who lives in Florida, has made a name for herself with Feverish, an aptly named line of gourmet ice cream trucks that cater to the state's warm-weather residents year-round. (source: thegrio)

Nashville Ice Cream Truck Rentals Continue Strong Despite Economy Sagging
January 6, 2012
Nashville based Mean Green Ice Cream Machine has reported strong interest in events for the 2012 season despite the economic downturn in the area. Ice Cream Truck rentals in Nashville for functions are filing up at a faster pace than in 2011 even despite budgets being strapped for entertainment expenses. (source: PressZoom)

Street Treats Has Earned Its Street Cred
November 29, 2011
Sometimes I wish that all U.S. Postal trucks would wheel around homemade ice cream cookie sandwiches and fancy rice krispy treats instead of credit card statements and bills. And by sometimes, I mean that I wish for this all the time. (source: Seattle Weekly)

Joe on the Go with Mojo Express
November 22, 2011
The idea for the Mojo Express began in 2009, she recalled, during a Fourth of July fireworks display — there were ice cream trucks surrounded by people looking for a treat. That's when it hit her. (source: Oak Park-River Forest Patch)

Coolhaus Ice Cream Sandwich Truck Comes to Miami
October 31, 2011
Olive oil, rosemary, and basalmic-glazed fig with mascarpone cheese. They sound like dinner, but they're actually ice cream flavors made by Coolhaus, the architecturally-inspired ice cream sandwich food truck with unorthodox flavors, which debuts November 17. (source: Miami NewTimes)

L.A. Ice Cream Trucks, Food Carts Question A Revolution In Fees Amid Recession
October 31, 2011
Until the recession hit, operating a business on wheels seemed like a slick job to many L.A. immigrants. (source: neon tommy)

Reality trip: Local ice cream truck’s next stop might be on TV
October 27, 2011
Shane McGill, who worked summers selling ice cream around town from a vintage milk truck, is calling it quits and shipping his truck to Seattle. (source: The Muscatine Journal)