{"id":32865,"date":"2023-07-15T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-15T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/new-business-brings-back-nostalgic-ice-cream-truck\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:03:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:03:28","slug":"new-business-brings-back-nostalgic-ice-cream-truck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/new-business-brings-back-nostalgic-ice-cream-truck\/","title":{"rendered":"New business brings back nostalgic ice cream truck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Carrie
Carrie Foster, aka Carrie the Ice Cream Lady, gives a free Bomb Pop to veteran Michael Nixon and thanks him for his service on Wednesday while selling frozen treats at Mercy Hospital. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

While many restaurants are riding the modern trend of the food truck, there\u2019s one Durango business owner who wants to take life back to a simpler time.<\/p>\n

The era of the ice cream truck.<\/p>\n

Carrie Foster, better known as \u201cCarrie the Ice Cream Lady,\u201d has been in love with the idea of owning an ice cream truck since 2000.<\/p>\n

After going through a divorce, the idea dawned on her of joining the circus. However, the reality of actually joining the circus set in, and she decided to pursue something she felt was similar \u2013 bringing joy in the form of Drumsticks and Bomb Pops.<\/p>\n

Those attending the True Western Roundup, Christmas in July or the Four Corners Motorcycle Rally, might see Foster with her vibrantly painted truck handing out frozen treats. Contrary to the typical stereotype of an ice cream truck, she is focused on events rather than cruising the parks for business.<\/p>\n

\"Carrie
Carrie Foster, aka Carrie the Ice Cream Lady, and her grandson Reiter Foster, 2, wave to people on Wednesday while selling frozen treats at Mercy Hospital. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cOur lifestyle has changed. Kids aren\u2019t really playing outside anymore. So I target events and I\u2019ve been able to find my market that way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Foster brings years of food service industry experience to her brand, having worked for a number of different restaurants in the Vail Valley before starting her ice cream truck business.<\/p>\n

In 2000, she bought an old Denver Post<\/em> delivery truck and ran her original business in the Vail Valley until 2016. She then went on hiatus until restarting the business in Durango in May 2023.<\/p>\n

Her first catered event service was during the Rio Rapids Soccer Tournament over Mother\u2019s Day Weekend. From Foster\u2019s perspective, there are many benefits to having a portable business like the ice cream truck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can go to the people and the people don\u2019t have to come to me, like a food truck a lot of times will be stationary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

To her, the truck is her marketing tactic, and she joked that she has no need for a website. She says another benefit to having an ice cream truck business is the inclusivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt covers all age demographics,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can do sugar free, dairy free or color free. It\u2019s for everybody and just old fashioned.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that she wanted the business to bring back the nostalgic feeling older generations had when they were children and getting ice cream.<\/p>\n

\"Carrie
Carrie Foster, aka Carrie the Ice Cream Lady, has opened her business in Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

While Foster doesn\u2019t often drive from park to park in town like the traditional ice cream trucks do, she will occasionally stop by to drum up business.<\/p>\n

She says Fassbinder Park is her favorite to visit because it has a lot of shade. Often, under intense heat, the truck can be difficult to work in.<\/p>\n

Because she puts an emphasis on attending events, the organization hosting her will generally get a cut of the profits. Foster said the percentage varies based on the event and host organization. She says at times it could be up to 50%.<\/p>\n

When she brought the truck to the Rio Rapids Soccer Tournament, she contributed 20% of the profits to the organization.<\/p>\n

Foster said she thinks another reason the ice cream truck trend died was a general lack of trust in the community. She said its hard for parents to let their child walk up to a stranger in the park to buy ice cream.<\/p>\n

As a mother and a grandmother, she said she understands this completely and wants people to understand that she\u2019s completely safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that goes a long way these days,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Carrie
Carrie the Ice Cream Lady\u2019s novelty ice cream menu items are displayed on Wednesday. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Foster focuses strictly on novelty ice cream items rather than scoops because it\u2019s hard to keep the ice cream cold in the truck, she said, adding that she will be adding root beer floats to the menu soon. It\u2019s another treat she feels has gone out of style and wants to bring back.<\/p>\n

tbrown@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"When
When your grandmother is Carrie Foster, aka Carrie the Ice Cream Lady, there\u2019s plenty of ice cream for Reiter Foster, 2. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Residents may see an old newspaper delivery vehicle handing out Drumsticks at major summer events<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[431,950,438,28,450],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-32865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-business-general","tag-durango","tag-food","tag-headlines","tag-restaurant-and-catering"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32865"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81953,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32865\/revisions\/81953"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32865"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=32865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}