Kirstin Cerulli, left, and Carin Crook, partners in The Natural Scoop ice cream truck, wore matching checked shirts in their appearance before the Board of Selectmen last Wednesday to get their vendor’s permit approved. — Macklin Reid photo
The Natural Scoop, an “all natural” ice cream truck, has been approved for a vendor permit by the Board of Selectmen.
“Good Humor meets Whole Foods,” said Carin Crook, one of two Ridgefield women who are launching the venture.
Crook and her business partner, Kirstin Cerulli, appeared before the selectmen Wednesday night, April 8, to seek approval from the board, which grants permits and keeps an eye on roving vendors in town.
The Natural Scoop is an “ice cream truck serving commercially pre-packaged all-natural frozen treats with no chemical or artificial anything, ingredients you can pronounce, alergen-free brands you trust, and taste you love,” their application states.
The selectmen told the partners that there were three other ice cream vendor trucks approved to operate in town, and the competing businesses had informally worked out schedules so they avoid each other.
Crook said the plan was to go to things like kids’ birthday parties — “more event type things than just driving around,” she said.
“We don’t plan to park anywhere very long,” Cerulli said. “We do hope to go to ball fields on weekends.”
The selectmen asked them to check with the sports groups running the games to make sure the leagues weren’t operating their own vending businesses at the fields in question to help support operations.
The selectmen also reminded the women that they would need to go to the Parks and Recreation Department for permission to sell ice cream at events like the concerts in the park, or the Fourth of July fireworks.
The women said their long-term plan was to make the business into a national franchising operation.
“That’s our big vision,” Crook said.
A third Ridgefield woman, Theresa Robinson O’Malley, is the employee expected to drive the truck most of the time this summer.
The Natural Scoop truck passed inspection and has approval from town Director of Health Ed Briggs, and all three women passed background checks by the Ridgefield police.