Talking Business ፡ Locally owned ice cream truck helps kids ‘hit the heat’ | Local business

Beat the Heat Ice Cream is a state-owned truck that operates in Longwich, Kelso and Lexington. Longwich couple Christie and Joseph Kuns bought the truck in March 2021 and each part of the Go 4th Festival procession for the past two years.

Cones saw the car for sale last year on Facebook. Christy Cunning recently quit her long-term job to take care of her newborn twins, and Joseph Cunns has also been out of work for a long time, so they enjoy part-time work.

“It sounds like a fun thing to do,” said Christy Cunning.

Cones bought the car and met an ice cream vendor. Within a few weeks, they started driving the car for events.

Beat the Heat does not look like a traditional ice cream truck. It has only three wheels, two in the back and one in the middle of the cabin. The doors are removed, giving the appearance of a golf cart, and the entire back end is taken up in a large white refrigerator.

Christie and Joseph Cunns both drove and stored the car. Instead of setting up daily routes, Christy Cuns said they would try to visit different areas with allowances for weather and mechanical issues.

“It’s great to see kids on the street jumping and dancing to music when they hear we’re coming,” she said. “We’ll find the little ones who have never seen an ice cream truck before.”

The truck has a top speed of about 15 miles per hour, which is great for making rounds in neighborhoods but challenging to move between places. The cones are occasionally loaded onto another truck to reach customers in the city from a convent in West Longwich.

Another aspect of the Beat the Heat business is renting to be shown at events. The car has been spotted at birthday parties, school holidays and company events. Christie said she recently asked to bring ice cream to the wedding but had to turn it down due to other registrations.

Although she advertised mostly on her mouth and on her Facebook page, Christie Kuns said how fast the business started.

“If we go out all day on a hot Saturday or Sunday, we have to fill up halfway,” she said.

Cones want to expand their business in the next few years. The next step is to make the van serve as a second car or as a replacement for the current one, says Christie Kons. Vanu offers additional storage space for snowy snacks and will be easier to travel to other cities.

“We talked about transmission as the kids were growing up,” she said. “We want to continue with the truck until then.”