A food truck that started slinging scoops around Knoxville has finally put down roots in Fountain City. Irvey’s Ice Cream opened its first standalone storefront at 3000 Tazewell Pike on October 9, following a three-day grand-opening celebration that kicked off Friday afternoon despite the threat of rain.
The new shop is the brainchild of founder and CEO Trent Sanders, who built the business from a single food truck into a presence at Kern’s Food Hall in South Knoxville before opening this second storefront, according to The Knoxville Focus. The opening weekend featured a ribbon-cutting, bubbles, lawn games and chalk art in the parking lot, and the celebration continued through the weekend even as inclement weather loomed. Sanders said rain would not ruin the festivities, since activities could simply move indoors, and the shop has indoor space along with umbrella service to help customers get from their cars without getting soaked, per the same report.
Beyond the Fountain City storefront, Irvey’s still operates at Kern’s Food Hall, where Knox News has reported the ice cream is made daily on-site. The Knoxville Focus reports the company now runs three food trucks and a mobile ice cream van, though a separate account from Yahoo described the fleet as two food trucks. Those mobile units have reportedly traveled as far south as Georgia, as far north as Johnson City, and as far west as Cookeville, with a stop in Nashville planned for Halloween, per Sanders.
A Flavor Lineup Built Around Variety
Count is the name of the game at the new shop. The Knoxville Focus reports Irvey’s offers 32 total ice cream flavors, split between 18 traditional options, 10 non-dairy flavors and four limited selections — one of which is a pickle-flavored scoop. Sanders pointed out that 32 flavors is one more than Baskin-Robbins’ famous tally, and that the shop’s 10 non-dairy options outpace the two or three typically found elsewhere, according to the same report…