Photo courtesy of Chris McMaken
No truck? No problem.
The newest addition to Pickerington's ice cream offerings is taking it to the streets.
Sweet Teeth Ice Cream is the brainchild of Pickerington area resident Chris McMaken. McMaken is a speech language pathologist with Lakewood Local Schools, which means he has free time during the summer.
Instead of taking the summer off, McMaken is working with his fourth-grade son, Lucas, to build up his ice cream bike business.
“I started the company last year because I noticed that the ice cream trucks that would come around my house were very infrequent and didn’t look inviting for small children to come up and choose ice cream to buy,” says McMaken. “I thought that by using a bicycle, it would be a lot more inviting, and I like to think of myself as a friendly person.”
McMaken can be found riding around neighborhoods and popular events, such as Friday Night Flicks at Sycamore Park and evenings at Combustion Brewery & Taproom. His favorite sweet treat on the menu is the Chips Galore, a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich.
“I ride the bike around my neighborhood, but I mostly focus on events like festivals, outdoor movies, parades, things like that,” McMaken says. “I do the neighborhood rides when I don’t have anything on my schedule. I can usually sell ice cream for about three hours at a time before I have to get more cooling.”
Photo courtesy of Chris McMaken
McMaken is preparing for Pickerington KidsFest, the next main event he plans to attend, which is Aug. 19. But he can be found at other local festivals or family parties during the summer as well. Just like the ice cream trucks, he too plays the classic ice cream music.
“I actually play the classic ice cream truck music through a speaker on my bike. I thought that I would get tired of it, but I actually really like it.”
While McMaken is able to combine his friendliness and approachability with his love of ice cream, his ultimate goal is to build up his business for Lucas to one day take over.
“I have a (upcoming) fourth grade son who works alongside me,” McMaken says. “My dream is to get the business set enough that he can take it over when he gets old enough and be his own boss during the summer.”
Other Ice Cream Options
Graeter’s Ice Cream
1500 Cross Creeks Blvd.
Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt
10503 Blacklick-Eastern Rd. NW
Dairy Queen
541 Hill Rd. N.
Cold Stone Creamery
1718 Hill Rd. N. #107
Froggy’s Sweets & More
31 Hill Rd. S.
Jake Nerone is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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