Joanne Williams
Editor
(Photo by Joanne Williams/TCJ – Sara Sandmire (left) and Kim Coles (right) outside of the Coles Ice Cream Co. truck.)
A lot of people dream about sweet, delicious ice cream.
Kim Coles and partner Sara Sandmire, and often Sara’s son, Jackson, are living the dream.
Well, actually, Kim started it all.
She said she got the idea just last summer, envisioning “the old-timey” trucks that played music as they drove through neighborhoods.
So, she did what any good consumer might do – she got on Craigslist and started searching. The first of many friends and advisors helped her find a former FedEx truck, and the dream reached for reality.
Kim and Sara readily admit there were a lot of bumps along the way, some expected, some not so. But this recent Memorial Day, Coles Ice Cream Co. took to the streets, stopping first in Charlotte.
The tall white and purple truck is eye-catching, the generator, noticeable, and the ice cream, oh the soft serve – well…
It depends on the day which flavor might be a favorite. The menu changes frequently and is full of ice cream creations that come alive with flavor and presentation.
It is even hard for the owners to choose their favorites. “Oreo shake, no, the sundaes,” said Kim.
A recent online poll on their Facebook page showed Carmel Crave a close first over Banana Split Dream.
The outside of the truck, the purple, comes from the pairs’ sorority days at The University of Olivet. They were both members of Sigma Beta and purple is their color.
The inside of the truck is “evolving” Sara said. Sara has food truck experience, once operating the Sun’s Out Buns Out Food Truck.
But burgers and ice cream are not the same, and the pair found out that soft serve machines can be temperamental at the least.
Beside painting the outside, sanding and preparing the inside, machines, electrical and plumbing issues were soon to become challenges.
“We’ve had our ups and downs,” Kim said, while Sara laughed. “I am not going to give up,” Kim said.
That spirit got them through a long, cold, busy winter, and an ice cream truck ready for inspection and fine-tuning in February.
“You live and learn,” said Kim. They both got good and bad advice along the way, stuck to their guns, and worked around road bumps. They even got their chauffer’s license to drive the large vehicle.
Coles Ice Cream Co. is open and on the road Thursday through Sunday. Both women have other jobs as well. They get their product from MOOville. Folks may have seen the truck in Marshall, Olivet, Bellevue, Potterville and most recently, at the Quarry on a Tuesday night.
They are also looking forward to event gigs and, of course, fine-tuning their dream and generating curb appeal.
“What’s great about ice cream is that it is for every age group,” Kim said.
The menu features cones, shakes and malts, floats, ice cream nachos, banana splits and a host of sundaes with drizzles and toppings. Signature scoops run the gamut from fluffer nutter to rainbow dream.
