BY IVAN SANDERS

STAR STAFF

ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com

If one has heard the sounds of the old-style ice cream truck drifting through the air and thought that it was possibly just a figment of imagination — take heart because that sound was coming from Sweetsie Treatz newest business addition.

David and Heather Odom recently added a vintage ice cream truck to take advantage of expanding their business outside the walls of their current location in the downtown area.

“So we are doing the ice cream store and we have everything there and she wanted to do some catering events so we knew that we had to get stuff from point A to point B,” said David about what motivated the couple to pursue the endeavor.

“We figured we needed a freezer anyway so what not go ahead and do the old school ice cream and maybe get on the streets with an ice cream route. Also, it would allow us to do church events and Vacation Bible Schools.”

David Odom serves as Associate Pastor at Harmony FWB Church in Hampton. The Odoms saw the truck as an opportunity to do outreach work.

“They feed the kids during the summer at the summer program, so we thought once we got up and going that we would follow them around and give out ice cream to the kids that they feed,” added David.

With the idea in mind for the new expansion, it wasn’t as easy to find the truck Odom said as one might have thought.

“We started to look and I had to have an ice cream truck that was vintage,” David stated. “So I found two — one was in Jersey and one was in Cincinnati so I went all the way to Cincinnati to get this truck.

“From there we have been working on the truck and we think it’s neat. This is the second time that we have had it on the road.

“We have had it two months but it’s been buying it, building it, and putting it together and all that stuff and trying to figure out what we are going to do out of it,” David continued. “I think we are going to end up doing Italian Ice and funnel cakes and things like that.”

For Heather, the truck presents an opportunity to help the business work toward bringing people back to the downtown area.

“Well, just to be able to be a part of the community and try to build this back up downtown is what it’s all about and to keep people here instead of Johnson City,” said Heather.

“It’s really about family for us. This community is family to us and if we can keep the business here locally, then why not.”

The truck has brought back memories for David, who said everyone appreciates the sound of the ice cream song playing through the truck’s speaker system.

“The faces of the kids and all their smiles are great but the coolest thing is when you flip that switch on and the adults actually go wilder because it brings back memories in their childhood when they hear that ice cream truck song playing,” David stated.

“That’s the universal sound you have heard your whole life. I remember as a kid that I used to hear it and I looked everywhere to see where it was.

“Everybody is happy when they are eating ice cream.”

The ice cream truck is just another piece that the couple has added to their Sweetsie Treatz business as they are looking for more ways to expand.

They have recently started serving home-cooked meals during the day like meatloaf and hamburger steak to name a few plus they offer sandwiches as well.