The cart debuted earlier this month at the Dayton Children’s South campus in Springboro. According to the couple, the launch was a huge success. In fact, they served customers for hours after initially planning to call it quits for the day.
I Heart Ice Cream is now Liz and Danny’s full-time endeavor and they have a busy summer planned. The truck will make weekly appearances at Xenia and Enon’s weekly food truck rallies, regularly stop on hospital campuses and be a part of many Dayton area festivals and special events.
The Cortes’ have been involved in Dayton’s food service industry for over a decade. As they began to work toward making their ice cream truck dream a reality, they picked-up some pointers from friends who own their own food trucks.
Credit: Staff
Credit: Staff
“I grew up with my grandma on an old fashioned ice cream truck back in the day when I was like 5 or 6 years old,” Liz said. “(We would) travel to neighborhoods and I would always get to eat all the ice cream.”
It was during the pandemic last year when both Liz and Danny decided “now or never” was the time to go after their dream of owning a business that was theirs.
I Heart Ice Cream will offer about 10 flavors at a time. The menu reflects both Liz’s childhood of loving classic ice cream flavors on her grandmother’s truck and Danny’s heritage as a first generation Mexican-American who grew up in Chicago.
The truck’s first and only — for now — vegan option is a classic Mexican dessert, the “mangonada,” a sweet, tart and spicy treat. Customers will get to watch as Danny crafts a frozen “sheet” of ice cream with mango, chamoy and Tajin seasoning, then rolled into a picture-perfect ice cream dish and paired with a lime and chamoy drizzle.
The Cortes’ are hoping to bring “that classic, vintage, ice cream truck vibe to the community with a modern twist.”
Customers can expect I Heart Ice Cream’s dishes to cost between $6.50 and $8.
“Rolled ice cream is a little bit creamier (than traditional ice cream) and obviously it’s more fun because you get to watch it being made,” Liz said. “But other than that, it tastes like a lot like regular ice cream. When you’re chopping and mixing it, science is happening and all that fun stuff. You’re creating air pockets and it makes it fluffy and creamy.”
To stay up-to-date with where the new truck will be next, follow their Facebook page at I Heart Ice Cream or visit ihearticecream.org.
Credit: Staff
Credit: Staff
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