A New Summer Venture for Local Entrepreneur

Photo Karen Graham.
Susan Tung took her mobile ice cream parlour on its inaugural trip to Maple Leaf Park for the soccer festival on Saturday.

No one expected Susan Tung to stand still very long after the sale of her family business, the Golden Wheel, earlier this year.  A full-time Trent student, Susan has still found time to work at the restaurant, helping the new owners through the transition.  Susan is an entrepreneur at heart, so it didn’t take long for her to find a new venture that could accommodate her other commitments.  In addition to using her natural sales and management skills and giving her the flexibility to set her own schedule, this new business is fun.

Last month, Susan and her partner Matt Reddy became the new owners of Pedal Parlor Co.  This seasonal business was started last year by a Peterborough couple.  They purchased a vintage original Dickie Dee bike, refurbishing the colourful modified tricycle and fitting it with a fiberglass compartment and filling it with frozen treats.  One of the features of the vehicle that was not altered was its source of mobility.  As the name suggests, the vehicle is still a pedal bike with no other source of power, so with its heavy, front-end load, moving it around locations can be a challenge.  The vehicle is transported to the site on a pickup truck.

Last Saturday, the couple ventured out with the vehicle for the first time and headed to Maple Leaf Park in Cavan during the soccer club’s festival.  From her bike, Susan offers a range of frozen treats including popsicles and other frozen treats from classic favourites to dairy and vegan options.  Despite the cool weather that day, sales were brisk, with Cyclones and Creamsicles topping the requests.

The products are currently sourced from a large supplier but Susan is investigating local sources of healthier options as she begins to get her feet on the ground.  Due to the perish-ability of the products, she can only be out for 4 hours at a time relying on ice packs to keep everything cool. When not on the road, the products are stored in freezers at home which is health inspected by the same city food inspector who exercised oversight over the restaurant.

A mobile canteen permit with the City of Peterborough is currently in the works, which will allow Susan to sell on the streets in some parts of Peterborough.   The new owners also hope customers will book them for summer events such as birthday parties, festivals and weddings, and they hope to drop in to summer sporting events like the one last Sunday.

With no staff and minimal overhead, this ice cream business is extremely flexible and a great fit for Susan.  She anticipates heat will be a challenge but looks forward to setting her own hours and making her own success.

To learn more about the business, follow it on Instagram @pedalparlorco or find it on Facebook. For information on bookings, contact Susan at 647-618-6725 or by email at susantungg@gmail.com. KG

 

 

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