Almost every single summer morning, Peter Pickrell starts his mornings preparing his mobile ice-cream truck for the day ahead.
“This business first started back in 1983, when we opened up an ice-cream shop in the Pointe-Claire village,” he said. “Then in 2003, there was a fire in a building next door. The building was impossible to rebuild, so we decided to take the ice cream on the road.”
Pickrell’s mobile ice cream hit the road as a mobile ice-cream supplier about 14 years ago.
But they didn’t stray too far away from the West Island.
Pickrell is also one of the owners of Pointe-Claire’s Westmount Florist.
“They’re both great businesses,” he said. “It was perfect having a flower shop next to an ice-cream shop. It was absolutely incredible. It was a dream come true.”
From June to October, rain or shine, the truck caters corporate and public events.
The company calls itself “The Rolling Cones.”
On Friday morning, Pickrell’s ice-cream truck pulled into Dawson College.
There, hundreds of teens got to choose from the 20 flavours the truck has to offer.
“They’re like, ‘Oh my god, what do I choose?’ Because we do have a lot of flavours,” said employee Leslie Taylor. “More than anybody. I think, more than most people.”
Over the years, Pickrell’s ice cream has become so popular, that he says he’s had to turn down business in recent days.
So, he said, he’s looking into buying a second truck for next summer.