Lickity Express ice cream truck to make public debut at Boston Marathon
Lickity Splitz is going mobile.
The owners of the popular Winchendon restaurant at 231 Main St. are introducing the Lickity Express, a brand-new ice cream truck that will be making appearances at community celebrations and public and private events over the warm weather months.
Knowing that their homemade ice cream was one of the eatery’s most popular attractions, Lickity Splitz owners Shawn Case and Tom Berger figured there would be a large market for their creamy soft-serve vanilla and chocolate cones at local food truck festivals and other events.
“We looked at each other and said why don’t we try a food truck?” said Case, who along with Berger took over ownership of the restaurant in 2023. “And there was a lot of great community response after we talked to some of the businesses and schools in the area – we got a lot of great feedback on the idea.”
Although selling ice cream (while promoting the restaurant) is Lickity Express’ primary goal, the truck, which contains a refrigerator, a freezer, and several sinks, is also equipped with a grill to cook hamburgers and hot dogs for special events, according to Berger.
“Of course, we’re going to try to accommodate the different requests people might have,” he said.
Ice cream truck to debut at Boston Marathon
The Lickity Express will make its public debut this weekend at the Boston Marathon, serving up ice cream to spectators near 216 Newberry St. on Saturday, April 19. Closer to home, the truck will be making appearances at the “Star Wars Night” event at Mount Wachusett Community College on Friday, May 2, and at the annual food truck festivals in Gardner and Winchendon over the summer.
The truck is also scheduled to appear at the annual Taste of Winchendon event in GAR Park on Saturday, May 10.
“That will probably be the first time everyone local will be able to see us,” said Berger.
Customers can keep track of the Lickity Express by following the truck’s Instragram account, said Case, who added that the ice cream truck had already racked up nearly 700 likes and 125 shares on its Facebook page in the week following its announcement.
“That’s a lot of traction,” he said.
Lickity Express to be available for community events and private occasions
The ice cream truck will not be traveling daily routes through the neighborhood, according to the owners, but will be available for private occasions such as birthday parties and graduations.
“Our space isn’t going to be going down the streets of Winchendon, our space is going to be at food truck festivals, at birthday parties, at private events, weddings, or backyard 40th birthday parties,” said Case.
The partners said they were excited to introduce the Lickity Express as a way of community outreach for the restaurant.
“When it comes to advertising and exposure, there’s only so much you can do on social media,” Case said. “But there’s no way you can miss that truck.”
Lickity Express part of restaurant’s five year growth plan
“(The truck) is to remind people that Lickity Splitz is here, that we’re open year-round for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” said Berger.
Speaking of Lickity Splitz, the owners said the introduction of the Lickity Express ice cream truck represents the second part of a five-year plan for the restaurant, an outreach effort that included the introduction of live music and joining the Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce. Part one of the plan, incidentally, was increasing the establishment’s storage space and general upkeep, Case said.
As for the next three years of the plan, Case and Berger prefer to keep their plans on the vague side, but they said customers shouldn’t be surprised to see the restaurant expand in more ways than one.
“We’d like to add on to the building,” Case said.
“And then we want to look into some outdoor activity, and I’m going to leave it at that,” Berger added.
