A local ice cream truck is bringing neighbors together, one cone at a time

Give Emily DeAno five minutes to talk about her experience working for Texas Ice Cream over the better part of the past six years, and she’ll tell you everything you want to know about North Texas’ bougiest ice cream truck—how it symbolizes the nostalgia and joy families feel as they run out to greet a slow-rolling truck on a summer afternoon, the priceless look on kids’ faces as the driver hands them their favorite treat, and why she can’t imagine working anywhere else. 

It really is her favorite job. These days, she’s beyond thrilled to be founder Joe McSweeny’s Chief Happiness Officer, a title that carries even more importance now that Texas Ice Cream is officially in Flower Mound. 

“We have so many people in Flower Mound blowing us up on social media, asking ‘Please come to our street,'” DeAno said with a prideful tone in her voice. “Joe started this, and so many surrounding communities throughout the Metroplex know and love us, but for many kids in Flower Mound, this is their first ice cream truck experience.”

“You’ll notice when the truck pulls up, all the neighbors come running out,” she said. “That’s our tagline—bringing neighbors together one cone at a time. It’s fun to see adults become kids again while standing by the side of the truck. And they’re making memories with their kids.”

This begs the question: Why did it take so long to come to Flower Mound? After all, Texas Ice Cream just started its 18th season and has established regular weekly routes for most of the DFW Metroplex, including Harvest, Lantana, Argyle, Bartonville and many other neighborhoods in Denton and Tarrant Counties. McSweeny started the company in 2008. He was previously a franchise owner for another ice cream company before branching out independently. 

The answer to why Flower Mound wasn’t being served lies in local policy. Flower Mound previously had solicitation ordinances that, for a long time, also applied to ice cream trucks. DeAno said the rules were later amended. Still, neither she nor McSweeny knew about it since the change coincided with DeAno’s brief hiatus from the company to explore an opportunity in the restaurant and hospitality industry. When Emily returned to the McSweeny’s company this year, the first thing she asked while researching potential new routes was, “Can we get into Flower Mound?”

“Someone on Facebook told me we could; naturally, I went down that rabbit hole in a hurry,” DeAno said. “We have an ice cream truck dedicated to Flower Mound for neighborhood routes, events and parties. It’s exciting.”

This is a breath of fresh air for Flower Mound residents looking to cool off with a delicious treat—and just in time for summer. Texas Ice Cream serves all the typical novelties families expect of a local ice cream truck, such as ice cream cones, ice cream sandwiches, chocolate-covered bananas, etc.

But their menu also includes banana splits, milkshakes, ice cream sundaes, soda floats, slushies and various other soft-serve options. Hence, the famed bougie moniker.

Texas Ice Cream offers neighborhood routes six days a week between March and November and, thanks to eight trucks, covers most of the Metroplex. They are also available for company picnics, fairs, corporate parties and birthdays. 

DeAno said they expect to attend between 800 and 1,000 private events during an eight-month season. They do all the work, too—just show them where to park, and they are ready to go.

“I am incredibly passionate about what we do, and I know Joe is, too,” DeAno said. “I want to keep that legacy of Texas Ice Cream going for as long as possible. It’s all about carrying on those nostalgic traditions, and now we get to do it in Flower Mound.”

You can also follow Texas Ice Cream at texasicecream.com or on Facebook at @texasicecream. Better yet, keep peeking through the curtains at home—you’ll hear them coming from a mile away.