Business Spotlight: Sounds of Summer

Ding-ding. Ding-ding. Ding-ding.

It’s a Pavlovian response for many in Springfield. That sound means the ice cream man is near.

The big-brass bells have adorned a fleet of Jeep CJ5’s since 1961 when Gene and Suzanne Hurst founded Kiddie Kart Ice Cream Co. Early this year, Joplin-based Jack’s Ice Cream Inc. bought Kidde Kart’s assets for an undisclosed amount bringing its 10 Jeeps into the Jack’s fold that covers some 300 towns across a four-state area.

“I was the supplier to Kiddie Kart for about the last 15 years, so I knew them well,” says Jack Sportsman, president and owner of Jack’s Ice Cream.

Hurst’s grandson, Justin Hurst, manages the Springfield operations at 2507 W. Grand St., which serves as one of three company distribution hubs, along with Joplin and Springdale, Ark. The walls are lined with deep freezers as Jeeps and vans jockey for position in the crowded space. Jack’s added six ice cream vans to the mix this year, and, rather than a bell, they play the familiar ice cream man song, “Turkey in the Straw,” among seven rotating options. Selling more than 50 varieties of ice cream and frozen treats for $1 to $4, Hurst says the traditional fudge bar still is the crowd favorite. Independent contractor drivers load their trucks each morning, seven days a week March through October, with a couple hundred bars, and the open-air Jeeps receive roughly 20 pounds of dry ice.

“It’s best to create a routine, a schedule, a relationship with your customers,” Hurst says. “They get to know people and the customers get to know them.”

Crescent Feed & Fertilizer Co. on West Phelps Street is a frequent customer along Hurst’s route.

“He stops by every afternoon around 3 or 3:15, and the guys count on that,” says Crescent Feed owner Larry Zahn. “Sometimes if it’s a really hot day, the ice cream is on me and everybody gets a treat.”

Zahn says his 25 staff members work in natural conditions, and the ice cream man has been welcomed each summer for over a decade.

“It’s not just for kids,” Hurst says. “It doesn’t matter if you are 3 or 90, a mechanic or a millionaire, everybody likes ice cream. Our customers are about a 60/40 split, with the 60 being adults.”

Similar starts
“My grandpa was 19; he’d broken his hip, my grandma was pregnant and he had to do something,” Hurst says. “He was always a shade tree mechanic and got an old Jeep running. He was an entrepreneur and saw an opportunity for an unserved niche.”

Hurst says one Jeep grew to three by the next summer serving central and north Springfield. That soon extended to surrounding communities, and Hurst says each Jeep has logged over 1 million miles and counting.

“We kind of fix them up as we go. I bet we have replaced almost every part on each one of them,” he says, noting the Jeeps only travel in Springfield these days.

Jack’s Ice Cream has a similar origin story, starting with a single van in 1990.

“I previously worked for Frosty Treats (Inc.) in Kansas City, managing a branch of 60 trucks in Atlanta for seven years,” Sportsman says. “I was originally from this area and wanted to bring it home.”

Sportsman grew the business to 30 vans before taking on Kiddie Kart and bringing the fleet to 42: 12 running out of Joplin, 16 out of Springfield and 14 out of Springdale.

While both parties declined to discuss sales trends, the operators say the acquisition interests are nothing new.

“We’ve been in talks for a couple years to sell,” Sportsman says. “It was a tough time for street vendors. Gas prices were high. It was a good deal for both of us.”

Beyond the trucks
While the sound of summer is personified in the ice cream truck, Jack’s Ice Cream is more than delivery.

“We are a master distributor for Wells’ Blue Bunny’s novelty products covering 50 counties in a four-state region,” Sportsman says.

Jack’s comprises three divisions, street vendor trucks, vending machines and wholesale. Sportsman says the company owns 125 machines, spread from Tulsa to Fort Leonard Wood, with 20 machines on the Army base.

In 2006, Sportsman added Blue Bunny concession trailers and push carts for special events, such as company picnics, sporting events and fairs.

Between the three divisions, Jack’s employs 12 full-time and some 65 seasonal independent contractors.

While adults may get in on the ice cream game, Hurst says children are still his favorite, and each driver goes through an extended safety course before hitting the streets.

“Nothing beats that smile on a kid’s face; it’s what keep me here,” he says. “I’ve been doing this 15 years and my family before me. I guess you could say I have vanilla in my veins.”[[In-content Ad]]