So Yes, I am on a roll. My goal is to have an event Every Weekend. I currently have a spot everyday at the Atlanta Food Truck Park! There is a Face Book Page & a website for the Atlanta Food Truck Park that you can look at.
Now with 3 carts, 2 go to major events & the 1 goes to the Food Truck Park every day.
Thank You for the suggestions. Please keep them coming!
4) Hey Dennis,
I definitely think this is something I can do, especially since the weather is warming up making it easier for more people to be outside/summer events forming up. I am a Dance Teacher at an elementary school and was looking for a summer entreprenuering job to make some good money. I think I might have found it!!
Mya
Hello from Canada. We finally got started after jumping through many hoops to get licensed in Calgary. We are operating in the downtown core in an area called Stephen Avenue Mall -an outside location. I thought you might want to read a review that was written about us.
Although we have only been operating for a very short time my wife and I have
totally enjoyed all aspects of this business. Your product has been well received with many compliments and the phrase used most often is “very refreshing”.
Children and tourists love getting their pictures taken with their blue and red tongues – its really quite funny to watch.
The cart is amazing and after a full day out in the hot sun we still come back with frozen ice.
While watching the final hours of the London Summer Olympics on Stephen Ave, I was able to enjoy a somewhat international treat I had only heard about before and is now available on Stephen Avenue.
While I have had all manner of Popsicles, sno-cones, sorbets, gelatos, and ice
creams, I had never in my 26 years had an Italian ice. Described as being half way between gelato and a sno-cone, Italian ice is a staple of the summertime in cities like New York and New jersey, where a historically dense Italian population gave rise to the treat. Sold either from trucks or push-cart,
the treat has a long history of delighting children on boardwalks, playground, and sporting events.
In addition to being the top frozen treat on the eastern seaboard, Italian Ices have the fortunate distinction of being free of dairy, fat, cholesterol and high fructose corn syrup. That’s right, for those who are sensitive to dairy, or are watching their cholesterol can rest a littler easier knowing that there is a delicious way to beat that heat, that won’t set your stomach in to a tizzy.
The ices come in several flavours including Cherry, Lemon, Blue Raspberry and Green Apple and tou should be able to spot anyone who’s tried these delicious treats on Stephen Avenue by their distinctively brightly coloured tongues like our hosts Victoria and Nicola shown above.
Keep an eye out for Little Jimmy’s Italian Ice on Stephen Avenue (8th ave
between Olympic Plaza and 3rd street SW) for the rest of the summer!
Athens, Pa. – An eight-year-old boy is bringing business back to Athens after the flood, by running his own Italian ice stand (see story below)
Athens, Pa. - An eight-year-old boy is bringing business back to Athens after the flood—by running his own Italian ice stand.The September flooding knocked out dozens of businesses in Athens. One of them was an ice cream shop in Teaoga Square Park. So Jack Henry Barrett, 8, brought an Italian ice stand in to replace it.
Jack is the official owner of Jack Frost Ice, featuring Little Jimmy’s Italian Ice. He works there with his dutiful employees, his parents. The stand features four flavors that change daily. Customers in the square for a concert Thursday night say Jack is a sign of new life in Athens.
“We just want to bring smiles back to Athens,” said Barrett. “Because people like to come down here and have some ice cream, but they can’t have that now. So we brought something new here.”
“We’ve lost, we had some hardship, but we have 34 businesses back and running,” said Ed Barrett, Jack’s father. “Jack is number 34 and it’s just a great idea.”
The Barrett family purchased the Little Jimmy’s stand and got approval from Athens Borough, which owns the park. Jack opened his stand two weeks ago, and his dad says he’s already inspired some other local kids to start their own businesses and help Athens recover.
4th of July has been crazy for most of our vendors- we had a video sent over that I edited down and stuck some music in and a whole bunch of testimonials from customers that had events on the 4th of July. Here is the video:
We still have around a dozen carts left for this season. Let us know if you would like one or two of them- you still have the rest of July, August, September and October remaining in the Italian Ice season for 2012.
Here are the testimonials from this past 4th of July:
#1: We were able to set up shop in less than 15 min to include the sink, tables and our helmet displays. We started off pretty good foot traffic was decent the free samples were key for us, once people got a taste we had folks coming back. I’m sure we had a little buzz going around for “Little Jimmy’s Italian Ice”. Unfortunately Monsoon season decided it wanted to dump rain on us and we had to endure 2 or three sets of good downpours. Even with the horrific weather we came out ahead we had smiling children and get this….we had a visit from a LONG time Eegees customer come by and ask to try some ice, since her grandchildren told her our Ice was MUCH better than Eegees. She first tried a sample and then fully converted and ordered an ice for herself and told us her grand kids were RIGHT! I would have to say that was a highlight of the day and kept us going throughout the rain.
Our feeling is, if we can be ahead during Monsoon rains, we just can’t wait for a sunny event.
Thank you for the support,
John and Sandra
Paradise Ice
#2: Hello Dennis, Things are going well we were actually working an event on the 4th. It was a good day, we averaged about $100 per hour. Thanks for touch base!
Allen
#3: We had our best day ever yesterday at the downtown celebration. We were lucky enough to be one of only a few vendors since this is the first time in several years our town has planned an event for the fourth but the crowds were huge and the event was well done. My husband tried to record video of our lines for the discount on our next order but he only got a few minutes because we needed everyone scooping and taking money. We ended up replacing at least 4 full tubs of ice from our two carts. Our hands are sore from scooping but it was all worth it and now even more Midlanders know about Italian Ice!! Thanks for everything! This has been such a wonderful business for us.
No, we’re actually leaving for California on Friday for Nationals in gymnastics that my daughter qualified for. When we get back we have been given permission to sell at twice a week at the Odessa Little League games which tie in perfectly with the helmets and we have a couple of trade shows and festivals lined up this month. By the way, one of the local television stations at the Fourth of July celebration gave us a small plug on air after we gave the anchors and their crew free ice and let me post a picture of them eating ice on my Facebook page. They came and talked to us after and asked us to let them know what events we will be at so they can cover them. That was kinda neat.
Bernadette & Todd Snodgrass
#4: (This is the Video Above) Unfortunately we were too busy scooping ices to watch the fireworks We had an amazing day!! My daughter videoed us for about 15-20 min with long lines and no breaks. When we can get it transferred from her phone to the computer we will send it to you.
Hope to hear from you soon and hope you enjoyed your 4th.
Scooping all over PA,
Diana Paluch
#5: We love selling the ice. The ice pushed our sales up to the 500 mark AGAIN for the 4th! Thank you! We should be ordering more later this year. Can’t wait.
Kimberly
#6: Hi Anthony- I’ve been finishing up some projects at work and getting ready for the spring events to start. I still have about 20 tubs left and have some events planned at the end of the month. Last year was a good time and I have been asked back to several events already this year. I’m now working with my Family which has a 501C3 business (http://www.marylandindiantourism.org/exhibits.php)since we recently became the first and only Native American Tribe to be recognized by the state of Maryland on January 9th, 2012 by Governor Martin O’Malley. This has created a great opportunity for my family and the tribe.
Thank you for keeping in touch and I hope you and the family are doing well. I’ll be in touch soon I’m sure to purchase more ice.
That’s the business plan of eight-year-old Jack Henry Barrett, who opened up an Italian ice cart in Teaoga Square in Athens Borough last week with the help of his father, Ed Barrett Jr.
Jack Frost Ice, which features Little Jimmy’s Italian ice products, came about after the Barretts – including Jack’s mother Deanna, who owns the nearby Urban Connection salon – wanted to find another way to bring people back to the recovering business district hit hard by flooding in September. It seems to be working, Ed Barrett said.
“So far, it’s been a great response,” he said, adding that the business already has “a lot of repeat customers in such a short time” since the stand opened for business last Wednesday.
Jack “has been a businessman since he could count change,” Barrett said. With the help of his father, family friend Mary Johnston and other adults, Jack scoops the ice, stocks supplies and keeps the stand clean.
The Barretts decided to purchase a Little Jimmy’s italian ice cart because of its low overhead and to fill a need left open this summer with the fate of nearby D and R Ice Cream in question after the flood, Barrett said. The Athens borough council granted the Barretts permission to serve the frozen treats in the square last week.
The stand will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, weather permitting, Barrett said. The Barretts plan to serve ice during the square’s special events, including the borough’s special concert series. The cart may also travel to other locations, such as the farmer’s market held on Fridays in Howard Elmer Park in Sayre, Barrett said.
The cart can hold four flavors at a time, Barrett said, with the varieties changing daily. The stand also sells a selection of miniature Major League Baseball team helmets that can be refilled with ice throughout the season at a discount, he said.
Flavors range from the traditional – blueberry, cherry, chocolate – to fruit flavors, bubble gum and root beer.
“Dear Tom and the rest of the Little Jimmy’s family,
I wanted to write you guys an email about what an incredible business this has been and what the future looks like. This business has been a game changer for my family. My wife and I have been doing this since June 18 here in the Abilene, Texas area. It was great, but it has gotten better. Last month, I made more part-time than I did in my full time teaching job (over $4000). Last night, we did a minor league arena football team’s tailgate party and game. We SOLD OUT. In five hours from 5 to 10, we made about $1300. The baseball caps were flying off the table. I’ve got to place another order tomorrow. I charge $3, $4,and $5, but I give a little larger portions.
The guy in charge of concessions brought his catering truck from DALLAS (200 miles away) where he owns a restaurant right across from the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. He talked to me about bringing my cart ( I will need more) to his restaurant on game days, because he does a ton of business. It would be a lot of gas, but it would be unbelieveable sales. This summer, I will be operating in the mall of Abilene in a prime location for the months of June and July. If it goes as well as I think it will, I will ask for August as well. That will be incredible income. I have events lined up on almost every weekend in the other months, and will need to order more carts as the income from the mall pops in. I could be doing 2-3 events a weekend now be because of the groundwork that I have laid over the past months. My goal is to hire good college kids or husband and wife teams to take carts and work events, giving them base pay plus incentives and expanding my business tremendously. I know that there are risks involved, but I also know that there are really good people out there who need a job and would love to make good money part-time.
Thanks for creating a fantastic business that has changed the financial future of my family. By the way, my daughter and husband are going to be going to graduate school in Rochester, New York starting this summer. He is a physics major with a full tuition plus stipend scholarship and my daughter will have an opportunity to go to the Eastman school of music. Rochester is only a few hours from Elizabeth, so I will be coming up there to see you folks every now and then, and be able to write it off as a business trip, and go see my kids.
Paul visited us this Saturday and picked up his italian ice cart and lots of Little Jimmy’s Italian Ice and was on his way. He was going to start up his push cartbusiness with his kids and was already scheduled for several events already in Maryland- Give us a call to get yourself started – 800 763 4348 and ask for anyone here – Little Jimmy’s Italian ices we’re an all family business.
I received the Ice on Thursday as requested. I appreciate the fast delivery. I had my co-workers sample the Lemon Ice, which they loved and wanted to know how to purchase, and if they could initially buy it by the pint (which I thought was a great idea)! Then on Saturday, we took it by Chase Bank, where we opened our business account, and had the employees and some of the customers try all the flavors. They LOVED it!! I didn’t think the Iced Tea flavor would rave all that well, but that is actually on of my favorites. And to make an “Arnold Palmer” flavor by mixing it with the Lemon, is a great idea! I have yet to take it by the Human Resource department here on the base for the individuals to try it as well. All rave reviews on the Samples!!!
We are waiting to hear back from the cold storage warehouse before we can place our shipment. Hopefully they get back to us this week so that we may place an order on Monday!
February 25th, 2012 Dennis Posted in Customer StoriesComments Off
This is probably one of the longest videos we have ever received at Little Jimmy’s Italian Ices. I sometimes edit these videos to under five minutes, however in this case I thought it would be interesting to see the entire video from a customer’s point of view. Everything from getting the cart and setting it up, to attending an event, and the actual event itself. First half of the video has to do with Italian Ice. The second half of the video is all about the air show that Leanne was watching while selling Little Jimmy’s Italian ice. As an Italian ice vendor, you get a front Row seat to cool events that you attend. Leanne observed Helicopter rescues, Fighter Planes flying overhead, parades, all while working- something you certainly cannot do from behind a desk! If you are interested in selling italian ices also give us a call at 800 763-4348 and we will help to get you started.
We had an amazing day!! My daughter videoed us for about 15-20 min with long lines and no breaks. When we can get it transferred from her phone to the computer we will send it to you.
