Mobile Ice Cream Parlor Rolling Out For Danbury 'Emergencies'

DANBURY, CT — What's even more amazing than a mobile ice cream parlor is that, here in southwest Connecticut, food truck capital of the multiverse, it's taken this long to arrive.

Ice Cream Emergency, which operates a small fleet of frozen dessert buses, has only just added the Greater Danbury area to its coverage area. There will be a grand opening, such as one can have a grand opening for a bus, on March 5.

It is, of course, no ordinary bus, but rather a "rescue emergency vehicle" — a mobile, hospital/EMS-themed ice cream parlor staffed by Ice Cream Emergency "scoopologists," decked out in red hospital scrubs.

It's quite possible that chief scoopologist and franchise owner Shireen D'Andrea may have taken the medical metaphor a couple degrees too far. Their grandest dessert, which boasts three "mega scoops" of ice cream, covered in hot fudge, caramel, "monster chocolate chip cookies," "OMG fudge brownies," maraschino cherries, sliced bananas, and other lesser toppings from M&Ms through Sour Patch Kids is called, ominously, "The Flatliner."

Ice Cream Emergency caters events which can include fun corporate get-togethers and even more fun weddings — basically any affair where a big dish of ice cream covered in chocolate sauce, whipped cream and sprinkles might save a life. Unlike traditional food trucks, Ice Cream Emergency diners are served inside the vehicle, which is tricked out like some retro ice cream parlor (the best kind).

The company currently operates four trucks in Connecticut, and two in New Jersey. In addition to the traditionally heart-stopping mega scoops and whipped cream, the not-your-grandfather's-ice-cream-trucks offer every manner of restricted-diet ice cream as well.

The towns Ice Cream Emergency Southwest CT serves are: Sherman, New Fairfield, Brookfield, Danbury, Bethel, Newtown, Ridgefield, Redding, Wilton, Weston, Easton, Fairfield, Westport, Norwalk, New Canaan, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich. Like D'Andrea's business here, the other franchises in Connecticut and New Jersey are all locally owned and operated.

At its grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 5, D'Andrea will be giving out free desserts, but says she didn't want to waste the opportunity to draw attention to a good cause. So the ice cream party will be held at Family and Children's Aid at 80 West St. in Danbury, and she'll be scooping out free ice cream for all who come by between 1-3 p.m., to "support social workers and everyone who supports them."

"Social workers don't really get much of a spotlight," D'Andrea said. "They give so much, and they're just not thanked enough. So I just wanted to say, 'Good job! Here's some free ice cream!'"