Ice cream trucks are a hallmark of suburban America, and now a Kodiak teenager is driving one along the island’s road system. It’s the only one operating this year.
Maria Wood is the youngest in her family at just 16 years old and she’s taking the wheel of their ice cream truck this summer. They’ve run the business for about half her life.
“I like being around kids and I like to make people smile,” said Maria Wood. “So this is one way I can do that.”
The Wood family’s ice cream truck is back in business a bit later than usual. Normally they would have started in early July, but they had issues with their order and only got started later that month.
It seemed to work out though – their shipment arrived just before Kodiak had a week with temperatures up to 70 degrees – some of the warmest this year so far.
The business runs out of a small green car modified with a battery and a small generator to run a chest freezer in the back, where they store their sweets. The car is about as old as she is.
It’s a simple business model – Wood’s mom orders ice cream and popsicles from a national distributor , US Foods, which has a center in Anchorage. Then they drive around neighborhoods and play music to get attention from potential patrons. But it’s not quite the typical ice cream truck music.
“My mom used to do carnival music and such – I started doing steel drum and more samba or salsa music,” Wood said. “It’s mostly whatever is fun and projects a lot.”
The business makes a few hundred dollars a day and Wood said she’s saving to travel and visit a friend who moved to California.
There isn’t a set route for the ice cream truck, but the family usually starts their day around Baranof Park. From there, Wood drives around neighborhoods her family’s had success in the past like near Mission Beach or Spruce Cape, but they add stops if someone reaches out on Facebook.
Maria’s dad, Justin Wood, manages their page and said even large companies get in on the fun.
“I just got a text from Northrim Bank, right by Safeway – they said ‘Come by the bank! We’ll come out and meet you in the parking lot!’” he said. “The other day some fishermen were out mending those big crab pots and they waved us down.”
Justin also helps post updates about their location as well.
The truck has been run mostly as a cash-only business to date, but the family has plans to get a card reader soon. Maria said they also want to expand their routes along Kodiak’s road system.
“Hopefully, we’re going to start doing the races,” she said.
Once they start selling at the racetrack near the fairgrounds, she said they’ll drive around neighborhoods like Bell’s Flats, Lake Louise near the airport, and even the U.S. Coast Guard’s Base Kodiak if they can get access.
