Frozen Dreams: NJ Ice Cream Truck Owner Takes Her Job Personally–And It’s Paying Off

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Angela C. Sanita-Soto isn’t selling ice cream. She’s creating memories – and business is booming.

Sanita-Soto, the owner and franchisee of Alsies of Montclair, told Patch that ice cream holds a special place in her heart.

“When we first came to this country from Chile, I was only 9-years old, almost 10,” she recalled. “We settled in Hoboken, where my dad was already living. Some of my sweetest childhood memories are of Friday evenings with my mom and my older sister. We would take long walks through Hoboken, talking and laughing together.”

“One of our favorite stops was a local ice cream shop called Magic Fountain, around 4th Street,” Sanita-Soto continued. “We would get our one-or two-scoop cones and continue walking, talking and laughing.”

“It sounds like such a simple thing, but it is one of those memories that has lived in my mind for all these years,” she said. “My mom is no longer with us, which makes those Friday-night walks and those ice cream cones even more precious to me today.”

Sanita-Soto now runs her own Alsies ice cream truck, serving up scoops and frozen treats to residents of Montclair – her home base – and other towns throughout Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex and Morris counties.

While the feeling it conjures is nostalgic, the concept of the “ice cream truck” has gotten a modern makeover. Sanita-Soto’s technology-enhanced vehicle comes equipped with geo-fencing, real-time tracking and live route information, letting her customers know when she’s in their neighborhood – and even allowing them to call the truck to their location.

Alsies of Montclair has all of the nostalgic classics, but they also carry gourmet “chomps and sammies,” colorful paletas, creamy gelato and inclusive options like certified nut-free selections and vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free choices.

Like her menu, Sanita-Soto has also expanded beyond the traditional neighborhood-only routes, serving private parties, schools, weddings, corporate and employee appreciation events, festivals, fundraisers and community celebrations. They also have an indoor ice cream cart that allows them to bring the Alsies experience inside for year-round events.

It’s a whole new ballgame from when she was a kid.

Then again, Sanita-Soto’s own pathway to business ownership isn’t your typical journey into entrepreneurship.

Before she got behind the wheel of an ice cream truck, Sanita-Soto spent years in corporate America working in global mobility and relocation. Her career involved helping employees and their families relocate across states and countries, and that career also relocated her own family several times, including to their current home in North Arlington.

“When we returned to New Jersey for personal reasons, I eventually took a sabbatical,” she said. “When I was ready to return to the workforce, getting back into my previous field proved more difficult than I expected.”

“That period forced me to reinvent myself,” she said.

Seeking a new beginning, Sanita-Soto went into retail. She explored several entrepreneurial ventures. She earned a New Jersey real estate license. She considered providing destination and settling-in services for international and domestic families relocating into New Jersey.

But Sanita-Soto kept coming back to the idea that she wanted to build something of her own, something joyful and community-oriented – and completely different from the corporate world she had known for so many years.

That’s when she learned about Alsies.

“There were practical things I loved – the clean, modern look of the truck, its size and drivability – but I have to admit, the adorable pink wheels caught my attention immediately,” Sanita-Soto said.

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From there, the next choice became where to set up home base. Montclair rose to the top of the list – and her personal memories again played a big role in her decision.

“Montclair actually had a place in my life long before Alsies,” Sanita-Soto said. “For many years, I worked throughout New York and New Jersey, and my circle of friends became spread across both states. Montclair often became our meeting place because it was almost a halfway point for friends coming from New York and different parts of New Jersey.”

“Through those experiences, I grew to really love the town: the beautiful neighborhoods, restaurants, arts and entertainment, local businesses and overall sense of community,” she said.

Alsies of Montclair debuted last March, with Sanita-Soto introducing the woman- and Latino-owned small business to the community through local events. Things ballooned quickly, and the business celebrated its grand opening at Lackawanna Station in April. It wasn’t long before Sanita-Soto had made inroads to Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, Nutley, Belleville, Lyndhurst, Kearny, North Arlington and other North Jersey towns.

She’s also visited New Jersey’s largest city, Newark, where Alsies of Montclair served up nearly 1,100 frozen treats as part of KIPP’s Heartbeat Day at NJIT’s Wellness and Events Center.

“We created three indoor serving stations in addition to bringing the truck,” Sanita-Soto remembered. “Standing there and realizing that a business I had only launched months earlier was serving more than a thousand people at one event was pretty surreal.”

Sanita-Soto also recently got a chance to return to Hoboken, where her own childhood experiences of enjoying an ice cream cone with her family still bring a smile to her face.

Now – whenever she’s on the job – Montclair’s new ice cream maven takes a trip down memory lane with each scoop she serves.

“There is something incredibly rewarding about pulling up in that bright truck and watching people's reactions,” Sanita-Soto explained.

Seeing a child’s beaming face at their birthday party… hearing an adult say they’re reminded of what it’s like to be a kid… this is what happens when the ice cream truck comes cruising into the neighborhood, she said.

“Maybe that’s part of why I understand that ice cream can be so much more than a treat,” Sanita-Soto reflected. “Sometimes it becomes connected to a person, a place or a moment in your life that you never forget.”

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