Food & Drink
It’s the ice cream, man!
Nothing creates more excitement or causes tiny hearts to skip a beat than hearing the tinny music emanating from an approaching ice cream truck.
Now there’s another reason for adults in the Columbia area to open their wallet for an afternoon treat – Triple Scoop Ice Cream trucks now offer adult frozen treats such as wine pops, booze pops and push ups.
“We’ve had moms chase us down in the neighborhoods,” says April Simpson, “asking for a martini pop or wine popsicle.”
Simpson and Dominic James, owners of Triple Scoop ice cream trucks, purchased their first truck in 2016 as a source of extra income and to teach a work ethic to their children. Simpson says the couple “pretty much had to rebuild the truck” from the engine up before obtaining a business license, dressing it with a final coat of bright green and yellow paint and hitting the streets.
While Triple Scoop is usually found on the southeast side of Columbia – in the Kathwood, Heathwood, Rosewood and Leesburg areas – the truck can be hired out for parties and corporate events.
The couple says the adult offerings fall into a loophole created by the South Carolina Legislature and are considered a food item, negating the need for an alcohol permit. The Department of Revenue weighed in on a similar business in Charleston, The Booze Pops van, after the city of Charleston raised concerns, declaring the business was following the law the way it is written.
Simpson has said Triple Scoop has become so popular that she and James have purchased a second truck and are looking for a third. The trucks will run year round, “we were only parked for eight weeks last year, during a cold snap,” says Simpson.
In addition to the ice cream for the kids and wine pops, vodka martini pops and Moscow mule push-ups for the adults, Triple Scoop trucks will have snacks and candies and coffee, cappuccino and hot chocolate and shaved ice. Follow them on Facebook – or just keep an ear out for the music.
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