The various earworm jingles that spill into the warm summer night air can only mean one thing—ice cream is close at hand. The melodic chiming of the neighborhood ice cream truck is a reminder of simpler days when you’d run to beg parents' cash for a soft-serve treat. Although, when Alex Lauri and Nikki Freihofer think of ice cream, their minds don’t go to “The Mister Softee Jingle”—they go to “Paint it, Black.”
Inspired by The Rolling Stones, Lauri and Freihofer are bringing a new take on mobile ice cream to the Hudson Valley. Their new business, The Rolling Cones, will serve ice cream cups, cones, and sundaes from a sleek Airstream trailer parked beside Kingston Standard Brewing Co. with plans to bring their rock ‘n’ roll inspired offerings on tour to local events and private gigs.
The couple lived in San Francisco for almost seven years prior to moving to the Hudson Valley. They were ready to leave California and spent nearly four months driving cross-country, stopping in different cities and towns. After making a stop in Hudson last year, they discovered Kingston. With the area’s ever-growing culinary scene and nearby Woodstock’s rock legacy, it seemed like the perfect place for the couple to create the Rolling Cones.
“Family friends and my father came up with the name when I was a kid. They really wanted to open an ice cream truck, but they weren't in the food business,” Freihofer says. With Freihofer’s background working in the food business as a cook and restaurant strategist and Lauri’s experience in design and branding, they decided to settle in Kingston and combine their expertise to make the family dream a reality. Their shared obsession with ice cream didn’t hurt either.
“There was a great opportunity here to do it, connect with the local community, and work with all the amazing other food businesses in the Hudson Valley,” Freihofer says.
It was important to the couple that most if not all of their ingredients are locally sourced. The base for their soft-serve ice cream comes from Ronnybrook Farm, a family-owned dairy farm in Pine Plains. There have also been talks with Kingston-based Rosie General and Fruition Chocolate to use their products for the trailer’s upcoming signature sundaes.
To start, Rolling Cones is keeping it simple with classic vanilla and chocolate soft-serve flavors. They’ll be offering a “Paint It, Black” option, where you can get your cup or cone dunked in a dark chocolate magic shell with chunky sea salt crystals. While you can mix and match these quintessential flavors with their homemade toppings as you wish, according to Freihofer, “the sundaes are where the magic happens.”
Most of their sundaes will feature various flavors of “magic dust,” homemade crunchy coating toppings. One of these sundaes is the Strawberry Shortie, a vanilla bean soft serve with fresh strawberries and berry shortcake magic dust. The Lady Marmalade is a sweet and citrusy option, with lemon bar chunks and curd over vanilla bean soft serve. They stay on the rock ‘n’ roll theme with the Mint Condition—a reference to vinyl records and an amalgamation of ice cream, mint chocolate shell, Oreos, and chocolate pearls.
The plan is to have six sundaes on the menu at all times, rotating with the changing of the seasons or whenever new inspiration strikes. After a successful soft opening the weekend of July 19, Lauri and Freihofer are officially opening at 22 Jansen Avenue with a launch party on July 26 from 5-9pm.
“The real draw is our creative sundaes and having this nostalgic Americana identity that feels a little bit like the good old days,” Freihofer says.
You can follow their Instagram for updates.
